


Two knights

by Kindryte



Series: Two knights [1]
Category: Terraria
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Extremely slow build, Multi, Slow Build, actually almost everyone is an OC, everyone is either gay dead or depressed, graphic description of gore, it's extremely slow, mostly OCs, no beta we die like memes, sometimes all at once, v few canon NPCs, we just faced off against the first boss
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:26:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 20,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26439469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kindryte/pseuds/Kindryte
Summary: Five years ago, a hero rose to defeat a cruel, tyrannical monarch. Aided by a close friend, they defeated monsters and beasts with terrifying powers, send their way by the evil ruler. Their victory resulted in an era of peace and quiet, unlike anything the world had ever known. Claiming the title of king, the hero watched the land they had saved flourish.However, a new darkness rises on the horizon, and perhaps... it is time for new heroes to protect this world....Perhaps the hero king is looking for a very specific one....
Series: Two knights [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1921918
Kudos: 3





	1. Omen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Couvina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Couvina/gifts).



> Plz be gentle I'm rusty and English isn't my first language ;w;

_Falling, he was falling again. Only able to hold one before-  
A dead body- no- not dead. Not yet. Magic was required to finish it.  
Cheering. Everyone was happy. Where was he? **Where is he?!**  
Feelings of dread, of wanting to throw up. He's not a hero. Stop- stop calling him that!  
Power- there's so much power!- pouring into him, making him throw up black goo. He can't stop, his lungs and throath are burning but he can't stop.  
The mangled bodies of his friends, eyes blank and lifeless. He failed them  
**He failed him**  
Cheering, more cheering, chains wrapping around him, tying him to the throne while cruel laughter mocks him..  
Stop.... stop it please...  
He's not a king  
He was never a king!  
He was never meant to become king!  
IT WAS ALWAYS-_

A glass of ice-cold water abruptly awoke the king. Gasping, the monarch wildly looked around the room, eyes not even registering the armor-clad woman standing at his bedside, empty glass in hand. Only after the king has slowed his breathing, did he notice her- as well as the glass and the fact his face was wet. "Rough night?" The armored woman asked, voice teasing yet gentle. "Nightmares..." The king spoke, shivvering at the memory of what he saw. "I-... they were of back then...". A look of understanding crossed the dark-haired woman's face. 

"Was it him again?" 

"no-" The king laughed. It sounded strange to both their ears, forced."I do not fear dead men. You should know that more than anyone else, Sylvie."

The woman- Sylvie- shrugged. "I dunno man" She spoke, inwardly making the king flinch at her bluntless and lack of proper etiquette. If his advisors knew how the commander spoke to her king when no one else was around they would lose the last few colored hairs they had. "He did some terrible things to us. You may not fear him, but his actions still..."

She didn't finish her sentence.

She didn't have to.

A tense silence filled the room, only being broken by the occasional sound of an owl. 

"I think... something is happening..." The king spoke, eyebrows furrowed, as if trying to make sense of something. "Something is changing, and we need to stop it, less things get out of hand.". "Excuse...?" Sylvie spoke, not really understanding her friend's train of thoughts or how he knew something was going on. The red-haired monarch was an enigma, and she had saved herself from going mad by not questioning him or thinking too hard about the strange man she called her friend. "Begravenis, the guy's dead. There's no way anything as bad as-"."His followers aren't" The king interrupted, dark piercing eyes staring straight at the armored woman, making her flinch at the _rage_ behind them. "As scattered as they are, they're still dangerous and _free_."

Silence.

"We can't leave the capital" Sylvie reminded her friend, sitting down at his bedside and twirling a lock of her jet-black hair between her fingers. "There's a lot of shit they need us for.". 

"Language" The king scolded, though all energy seemed to have left him. "And I know. I hate to say it, but we cannot leave now."

Another long silence.

"...We can send knights...?" the dark-haired woman spoke, trying to cheer her friend up- to make him feel like they weren't just sitting ducks waiting for... whatever was supposed to happen. "There's a lot of skilled warriors in our ranks, and it could really make a diffrence- even if we'd only send them out to observe and report anything they find. You KNOW how much of a diffrence reliable information can make."

The king gave it a thought. It was true that among those who swore to serve the nation were plenty of extremely skilled knights, and it was true that most would have no issue defending themselves and informing him of any dangers that they'd see.... but...

...What if that wouldn't be enough? 

As if sensing her friend's doubt, Sylvie spoke up.

"Let's just try it, okay?" She spoke "Send some guys out, have them see if anything's wrong, and if there is they can't keep us here!" 

The king smiled. True. If the kingdom was truly in danger, no-one would blame him for leaving the capital to deal with the threat head-on. 

He was their hero. He was supposed to do that.

And just like that, the royal's smile vanished. 

"...You okay?" Sylvie asked, having noticed the shift in her friend. 

"Tomorrow." The king spoke, eyes downcast. "Tomorrow we'll pick one or two knights from our honor guard for this mission. We have to be discreet about this- not even the royal advisors must know."

"Got anyone in mind?" Sylvie asked, getting up.

Begravenis smilled slightly, memories of criminal comraderie and nights around the campfire surfacing as he spoke

"I have two, actually."

  


Swords clashed as the fought, though any bystander would be able to tell that this fight was nothing more than practice from the smiles and taunts the two knights shot at each other. "You are doing well!" One of the two- a young, blond-haired male- spoke, grinning mischieviously. "You're not letting me kick your ass for once!". "Hey I won our previous match!" The other yelled back, pouting. "I beat you once before!". "But can you do it again?!" The blonde knight shouted, changing at his opponent, giving him little time to react and forcing him to block and defend. The taller, dark-haired male was being pushed back, which was not good-especially not when dueling against the top swordsman in the honor guard. If he could find an opening then-

Sadly, before the taller knight could find an opening for an attack, the shorter male managed to disarm him.

...And as such, the duel was over.

"Not fair!" The taller male spoke, crossing his arms "I was distracted!". "Wow, really?" The shorter male spoke, smirking "Here I thought having a duel against your best friend would require your full attention. Looks like you'll have to train for one hundred more years if you wish to best me~!"

The taller knight just rolled his eyes. "Next time I'm beating you!" He spoke, lightly punching his friend's shoulder. "I'd love to see you try~!" the blonde replied. 

Someone cleared their throat. "Am I interrupting anything...?" A voice asked, making the shorter male flinch. "N-no ma'am!" He quickly spoke, whipping around to face the commander. "Just some practice!"

Commander Sylvie did not look impressed

After a short silence, the shorter knight sagged a bit and muttered out a short "Whatever happened, it wasn't me this time!"

"The king wishes to speak to both of you" Commander Sylvie spoke, ignoring the blonde's statement. "Follow me." 


	2. Mission

The hallway leading to the throne room was wide and tall, with large windows looking out over the courtyard. Once they were decorated with paintings, glowing runes and statues, showing off the ruling king’s wealth. Now most paintings had been removed, and very few statues and runes were being kept. The foreboding atmosphere had been purged from within the castle walls when the previous king was slain, replaced by a more calm and regal aura. 

It did nothing to sooth Sean-Floris’s nerves though, as he followed the commander. The blonde had a reputation among those who worked and lived on the castle grounds, and had been screamed at by the commander many times. 

Sean-Floris Faoc was a force of chaos, and unfortunately his best friend was a chaos enabler. 

Abhysial was glancing around the hallways while following his friend and commander, taking in the many details in the artwork, wallpaper and walls around him. As many times as he had seen this place, he never really got tired of wandering the halls and open chambers of the castle. His curiosity had gotten him lost or confused multiple times, but he’d always make his way back to the barracks eventually. 

He’d most likely never get used to living on the castle grounds. though. Even after four years it seemed surreal. 

Finally, they reached a set of large, wooden doors. Intricate carvings decorated their surface, though neither Abhysial nor Sean-Floris had ever figured out just what the carvings represented: They looked quite abstract. Two guards stood at either side of the doors, protecting the room from any who may try and harm the king. Upon seeing the commander, both saluted. 

“You are dismissed for now” Commander Sylvie spoke, voice firm and leaving no room for arguments. “I shall take over your shift for now.”. One of the guards opened his mouth to protest, but a glare from the commander was more than enough to make the male change their mind. Both left. 

“I shall accompany you inside” The armored female spoke, turning towards Sean-Floris and Abhysial “Though don’t expect me to stay for long. It is of utmost importance that no-one learns of this.” 

Before either knight could ask what the commander meant, Sylvie had pushed open the heavy, wooden doors, stepping into the throne room. 

“My lord” She started, kneeling. “I have brought Sir Faoc and Sir Khalil.”. 

Sean-Floris and Abhysial followed their commander hesitantly, kneeling a little behind her. 

The king- a tall, near skelethal-looking man with long, blood-red hair and dark, piercing eyes- gave his commander a nod. “Thank you for bringing them so swiftly, Commander Sylvie. You are dismissed for now.” 

“Thank you milord” The commander spoke, getting up and leaving the throne room, closing the door behind her and leaving the two knights alone with the king. 

Abhysial dared to glance at the king. Despite his skinny and rather fragile appearance, this man held more power than anyone- or anything- the dark-skinned male had ever seen. Noticing his stare, the king smiled at the dark-haired knight, getting up from his throne. 

“Thank you for arriving on such short notice” The king spoke “I do hope the commander didn’t scare the two of you too badly?”. “N-No my lord” Abhysial spoke, quickly looking down again. As kind and understanding as the king seemed, it would be in the knight’s best interest to show respect. 

The king noticed, and let out a sigh. 

“Please stand up” The monarch spoke. “It cannot be comfortable to kneel like that for long.” 

Both knights rose to their feet, and Sean-Floris bowed to the king. 

“My lord” The blonde started “I do not know what I have been accused of, but I assure you I have done nothing that would require for me to be summoned here! Sir Khalil can vouch for me! I am innoce-”

The king raised his hand, causing the knight to stutter and stop speaking. “You have done nothing wrong” The ruler spoke, voice gentle. “I have not called you here to reprimand you.”

Confused, the shorter knight opened his mouth to ask a question, but quickly changed his mind, choosing to listen to his king instead.

After a moment of silence, the king spoke up again.

“As the two of you are aware, I was not born into a position of power.” The king spoke, walking over to one of the large windows in the throne room overlooking the capital. “I earned my title by helping in the assassination of the former king. While I have worked tirelessly to undo the damage that man has done to this kingdom, my work is far from over, and not everyone is happy with what happened. There are still people out there who are loyal to the old king, and wish to seek revenge for what I have done to him.”

Abhysial noticed Sean-Floris tense at the last part, but his attention was quickly brought back to the king as he continued speaking.

“While scattered, these followers are still very dangerous, and capable of causing us great trouble.” The monarch spoke, walking back to the centre of the room. “And recently, I’ve begun to sense a shift- as if something is changing within the world. Which is where the two of you come in.”

The king turned towards the two knights, expression serious. 

“I cannot leave the capital as it is right now, and I would like for the two of you to investigate and report anything you find and deem suspicious.While your methods may be… unconventional, I am convinced the two of you will make an amazing team, and will be of great help.”

For a minute, no one dared to say anything. Abhysial let what the king told him sink in, though he wasn’t even halfway done with processing the information he had been told when Sean-Floris let out a rather undignified sound. 

“Of course we’ll do it!” He shouted, only realizing when both the king and the other knight flinched at the volume. “S-sorry about that…” Sean-Floris spoke, clearly embarrassed by the outburst. The king chuckled. “No need to worry. I am aware you’re rather energetic. I am happy you’re willing to accept this mission.” 

The king turned to look at Abhysial. 

“How about you? Are you willing to go on this mission?”

Abhysial hesitated for a second, before speaking.

“Yes…” He replied, not daring to look at the king. 

“Thank you, both of you” The king spoke, sounding sincere. “Now… follow me, and I will explain your task in further detail.”

The king turned and walked back to the throne, which was placed a bit away from the wall. Confused, both Sean-Floris and Abhysial followed, noticing there was a door directly behind the throne, hidden from view unless one were to get close to it. 

The king took a shining, golden key from somewhere under his mantle, and unlocked the door, walking through it and holding it open for the two knights so they could follow. 

The room the three entered was small, filled to the brim with bookcases, scrolls and parchment. In the middle of the room was a large table with a map of the kingdom on it. Six seats were placed all around the table, and the king moved to stand behind the chair furthest from the doorway. “Take a seat” He spoke, motioning towards the two chairs closest to the knights. 

After both Abhysial and Sean-Floris had sat down, the king pointed towards an area in the south of the kingdom. “Around this area” He spoke “There are several towns. Some of which have asked for assistance with a few minor things. The two of you will head over there under the guise of offering aid and helping the towns to train guards to protect them. It is of utmost importance no one learns of the true reason you’re present, as it would do no good to have the people learn of the dangers that seem to threaten this kingdom yet. You must be discreet, yet observant, and report any suspicious findings to me as quickly as you can.”

Abhysial scanned the map, taking in as many details as he could. “Any further questions?” The king asked. Abhysial bit his lower lip, not sure what to say just yet. “I have one!” Sean-Floris spoke “Why do we have to go to that area specifically?” 

“Good question!” The king praised. “To put it simply: it is because I sensed the shift coming from that area. Whatever is happening will be the easiest to discover around there.” 

Sean-Floris crossed his arms, nodded and muttered something under his breath. “Anything else?” The king inquired.

After a short silence, the king let out a satisfied hum.

“Wonderful!” He spoke. “Tomorrow, I shall send you on your way. I’ll make sure the fastest horses are ready for you. The two of you are relieved of the rest of your duties for today- please use this time to prepare for the journey ahead of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I'm really not sure if this story should be part of the terraria fandom. Aside from the bosses you can fight and the general progression of the game there's almost nothing that fits in with Terraria- heck even the established lore gets partially yeeted.
> 
> Then again I can't really put it as original work since most of the stuff is BASED ON terraria.  
> 


	3. Journey

The next day, Abhysial and Sean-Floris begun their journey towards the southern part of the kingdom. Despite the fact the two both had saddle bags filled with supplies and rations, it still felt as if the two were woefully unprepared.

...Not that Sean-Floris seemed to mind. The blonde knight was practically vibrating with excitement. 

“Can you believe we’re FINALLY being sent out to actually go help people?!” He spoke, letting out a series of squeals and giggles afterwards. “It’s just- gah! Finally the guy noticed how good we are!”. Abhysial rolled his eyes at his friend’s excitement, though he couldn’t help but feel giddy as well. “I thought for sure the king had figured out you were the one to eat all the strawberries though.” He teased, causing the shorter male to blush brightly at the memory. “You promised not to bring that up again!” Sean-Floris shouted, quickly looking around as if expecting some of the others who served the king to pop up and scold him. 

The wheat fields, however, were devoid of any soldiers and knights, to the blonde’s relief.

Abhysial laughed, a happy, carefree sound. “Consider it payback for the wednesday incident” He hummed, giggling as the shorter male looked at the dark-skinned knight as if he had just killed a puppy. “You traitor!” Sean-Floris spoke with mock-anger. “I can’t believe you’ve chosen to betray me at the START of our mission! We’re not even where we’re supposed to be yet and you’ve already stabbed me in the back!” 

Abhysial couldn’t help but laugh out loud at his friend’s antics. Sean may have been a show-off with a surprising amount of skill, he was also someone who was extremely fun to tease at times.

“You’ll get me back for this.” Abhysial spoke, chuckeling. “Can’t wait to enter my room and see it’s filled with chickens.”. “That’s an old one…” Sean-Floris pouted, refusing to look at the other. “I’ll have to get revenge with something else- something better.”. Abhysial chuckled. “Good luck with that. I’m prepared for anything at this point!”

The two spend most of the journey after that in silence, only occasionally breaking it to point out some animals or flowers one noticed or to joke about something. Abhysial couldn’t help but feel relatively calm and relaxed.

“Must be nice to be traveling again…” He muttered. Sean-Floris just let out a quiet hum in agreement. “It’s nice. Especially to be able to travel with a friend. I can’t deny the fact I missed this.”

Abhysial frowned a little at that, wondering if his friend regretted joining the ranks of the soldiers and knights working under Lord Graves. He didn’t ask though, figuring it was something Sean-Floris would tell him about eventually. 

Several hours later, the two decided to take a break near a river. Sean-Floris tied the horses to the remains of a fencepost, and Abhysial pulled out two apples and some bread from the saddle bags. “Ah!” Sean-Floris spoke “A meal fit for kings~!”. “Truly a feast for champions!” Abhysial added, chuckeling. 

The two sat down in the grass, eating their food in relative silence while watching the horses graze. 

After Sean-Floris was finished with his meal, he let himself fall backwards, stretching out on the grass. Despite the calm that surrounded the two knights, it was obvious something was bothering the shorter male. Abhysial was about to ask, when Sean-Floris instead decided to reveal some of his concerns.

“Do you really think there are some of the previous king’s followers causing trouble out there?” He asked, sounding mildly concerned. “You’d think that the death of their leader would… you know… cause them to stop. Do you think they’re planning something?” 

Abhysial thought about it for a second, before shrugging. “I dunno.” He spoke, leaning back a bit, looking up at the sky and the few clouds that lazily floated by. “It’s possible, and I’m sure the king has his reasons to be worried.”. 

Sean-Floris bit his lower lip, frowning. “I hope we won’t encounter any…” He spoke, voice oddly serious. “They’re evil. I’ve seen them before. I do not want to see them again.” 

Abhysial turned to look at his friend, worried. “Are you… okay?” He asked, hesitantly. “‘m fine” the blonde replied, though his expression remained the same. “Just realizing that if there’s really some lunatics following a dead guy’s orders around, it’s not gonna be easy to take them down. It’s- …” Sean-Floris let out a frustrated sigh, before seemingly slipping back into his cheerful mood. “But let’s not worry about some idiots ruining things for others!” He spoke. “We’re on an _adventure_! Freakin’ finally!”

Abhysial was confused by the sudden shift, before he realized.

...Sean-Floris must’ve had a rather unpleasant encounter with the tyrant’s followers in the past…

“We are!” He spoke, smiling. “Though I don’t think it’s going to be too exciting- we’ll just be doing what commander Sylvie did to us, and write a lot of reports.” 

At the last part, Sean-Floris’s face drained of color.

“Oh no…” The blonde spoke in horror. “Reports. Nooooooo….”

Abhysial burst out laughing. He couldn’t help it- the look on Sean’s face was just too much!

\------------------------

_A hooded figure sat cross-legged on the cavern floor, several rolls of empty parchment spread around him. A lantern provided just enough light for the man to see a large chunk of the wall in front of him. He scanned its surface with narrowed eyes, barely looking down as he scribbled down the runes that had been carved into the rocky surface hundreds of years ago._

_“Boss!”_

_The mysterious figure flinched at the loud sound, slowly turning to look at the one who dared to interrupt him._

_“Is there anything wrong?” He asked, voice low and full of authority. “We’ve found more hieroglyphs.” The man spoke, bowing a little. “As soon as you’ve finished writing these down, they may provide more information.”_

_“Excellent work” The hooded male spoke, nodding at the other. “As soon as I’m done here, I’d like for you to lead me there.”. “Of course, sir.” A second voice, more feminine than the first, spoke up. “We’ll be waiting for you at the entrance of the cave._

_With that, the two left the hooded male alone to finish his job._

_Hours had passed when the mysterious male finally got up. The light of the lantern was significantly less bright than it was when he first sat down. “Useless…” The mysterious male muttered, snuffing out the light._

_With a wave of his hand, a purple sphere of light appeared, and gently floated next to the male as he made his way towards the exit. His followers had found more hieroglyphs and runes for him, and it would be unwise not to study them while he still could. He had been preparing for five years after all, and while time was not on his side, to start his plans without knowing all he could about the ritual would be extremely stupid._

_He only had one shot, and nothing could go wrong._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was really just me trying to establish Abhysial and Sean-Floris's friendship.


	4. Rumor

“ANOTHER ONE!” Sean shouted loudly, raising his mug. The innkeeper laughed while taking the (quite intoxicated) knight’s glass. “Easy there!” The balding man laughed. “At this rate you’ll truly regret it in the morning.”. Sean-Floris pouted, but didn’t argue. 

Abhysial was amused yet slightly embarrassed by his friend’s behavior. After two days of travel, they had reached a small village with an inn. Deciding that sleeping in a bed was better than on the ground, the two both got a room at the establishment. It didn’t take long for Sean-Floris to learn that the inn was famous for its mead, and even less time to convince his friend to tag along to try and get a taste of it. “We deserve a night off to relax after all the traveling we’ve done!” The blonde had spoken, and Abhysial couldn’t help but agree.

“It’s unusual to see knights around these parts nowadays…” The inkeeper spoke, tone slightly concerned. “Ever since that scum got vanquished, the royal guard hasn’t been such a pain in the neck- you two are the first knights i’ve seen in three years!”. Abhysial let out an uneasy laugh, not knowing why the man had brought that up. “What are you two doing out here, so far from the capital?”

Ah… so that was it. 

“We’ve been sent to help some towns in the south train their own guards.” Abhysial spoke, fidgeting with his chainmail. “Apparently, they’ve had issues with rogues and such…”. “Ah! I see.” The innkeeper spoke, followed by a loud laugh. “Looks like their fairytales can’t protect them from real dangers after all!”.

That piqued the dark haired knight’s interest. “Fairy tales…?” he asked, leaning forwards a bit. “What do you mean?”. “The people around those parts are… slightly crazy.” The innkeeper spoke, thoughtful. “They believe in things that aren’t real, hoping that by sheer force of faith they will become real and aid them. Nothing to be worried about though, they’re no worse than a crazed beggar.” 

The tavernkeep glanced around for a bit, as if trying to see if anyone was listening to his conversation, before leaning down a bit. “The true danger is within the forest between this village and them, and if you truly need to travel there, I’d suggest you travel around it.” “Why?” Abhysial asked, curiously. “Well, that’s quite a long story.” The tavernkeep spoke, glancing over at Sean-Floris, who seemed to have passed out. “But the gist of it is that an extremely powerful person lives within the forest- someone who can bend the will of nature itself to fit their needs. It’ll be very easy to anger them, which has been a death sentence for many throughout the centuries. They’re referred to as the Beastlord.”.

Abhysial felt a shivver go up his spine. “I-...I’ll keep it in mind…” The knight spoke, smiling nervously. “How much time would it add to go around the forest rather than trough it?”. THe innkeeper thought about it for a moment, before answering. “Around seven days.” He replied. “Going through the forest would take a day, but be far more dangerous.” 

Seven days….

...They didn’t have the rations to take that much extra time…

“And what if we HAVE to go through the forest?” Abhysial asked, catching the innkeeper off guard. “How do we make sure not to anger the Beastlord?”. The innkeeper sighed. “I would really advise against this… but if you have no choice, the only advice I can give is to not kill or capture any creature you come across- which is surprisingly difficult as the bunnies, ducks and other prey animals have grown accustomed to humans. Bunnies will dark right in front of you, making it laughably easy to step on one by accident. Birds too will just sit quietly at eye-level with you, not even flinching if someone reaches to pet them. There are no wolves, foxes or even weasels present in that forest- according to legend the Beastlord commanded them to stay away from it- making it so that the naturally skittish have lost their fear.”

Abhysial let out a sigh. It actually sounded kind of fun to ride his horse and see all the animals in the forest relax and play around, but if it was true what the innkeeper spoke, each and every one of those critters had little to no sense of self-preservation. Which could mean the two knights could invoke the Beastlord’s wrath by accident!

“...thank you for the advice…” Abhysial spoke, feeling slightly nauseous at the prospect of facing off against an extremely powerful person that could kill them because one of the forest critters didn’t watch their step- it felt slightly unfair. “I think it’s time for me to put my friend to bed though. I hope he won’t be hurting too much in the morning….” 

The innkeeper glanced at the two knights, before letting out a chuckle and shaking his head. “You’re very welcome!” The man spoke, chuckeling. “It’s been too long since folk from the capital have been in this village. I like hearing the stories you guys bring to these parts, ‘tis the reason I opened this place after all!” 

Abhysial paid for his and Sean-Floris’s drinks and food, before lifting the smaller male and taking him to their shared room. Putting the shorter on his bed, Abhysial debated on whether or not to remove the blonde’s armor. Feeling a bit awkward about it, he decided to just remove most of the plated stuff, and have the knight sleep in whatever he wore underneath that. 

Despite the long day the two had, despite the long journey they had been on and the soothing sounds of the night, Abhysial couldn’t sleep, thinking of what the next day would bring. They’d have to travel through the forest- there was no way around it, but what if one of their horses accidentally stepped on one of the critters? What if a bird fell from its perch near them? Would that also count as killing them? Would they be able to reason with the Beastlord? The tavernkeep had said that angering them had been a death sentence to many throughout the centuries- were they centuries old? Were they a deity? Would Abhysial and Sean-Floris trespass in the domain of a god the next day?!

Abhysial squeezed his eyes shut, praying to whatever deity was out there that the trek through the forest would go off without a hitch, even if part of him knew it would not be so easy...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sean-Floris gets drunk.  
> Abhysial gets scared.


	5. Forest

One good thing about this place was that the horses were oddly calm and relaxed, Abhysial noticed. They were a bit slower, but seemed to be taking in the sights around them a lot more, glancing around at the various plants and animals that were present in the forest. 

Sean did not seem to notice the slowness, though he was all too aware of how docile and bold the supposedly skittish critters were. “Maybe I’m still drunk…” The blonde muttered, wincing as some sunlight filtered down from the trees and shone straight into his face. The shorter knight was nursing a small headache as a result from all the alcohol he had consumed the night before, something he had loudly complained about when he had finally woken up.

Abhysial may have let him sleep a little longer than usual due to his nerves. 

Several warning signs were placed at the entrance of the forest, warning anyone who thought of entering. Apparently many had gone missing as a result of the beastlord’s powers- not having followed the two rules set in place by the mysterious ruler of the forest:

Do not catch the animals.  
Do not kill the animals.

...the amount of times Abhysial had to pull on the reins to keep his horse from accidentally stepping on a bunny or pheasant was far too high for his liking, though it seemed as if Sean had no issue avoiding any critter in his path. 

...Lucky…

When the sun was at its highest, the two knights reached a clearing filled with wildflowers. Having recovered from his headache, Sean-Floris was fully able to appreciate the beauty of the forest, and quickly dismounted, eager to enter the clearing and frolic around the flowers. 

Abhysial was a bit more careful, watching his step in case any bunnies or mice were resting on the ground between the flowers. Both horses seemed content with being tied to a tree near the edge of the clearing, calmly eating some of the grasses that grew there. 

“Breaktime!” Sean spoke, letting himself fall backwards into a patch of flowers. Despite his nerves, Abhysial couldn’t help but flop down next to his friend (after checking if there were any animals there). “This place is awesome…” Sean spoke, closing his eyes with a sigh. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard so many birds sing at once- nor have I ever seen a squirrel!”. Abhysial blinked. “You’ve never seen a squirrel before?” He asked, incredulous. “Nope!” Sean answered. “I’ve seen plenty of birds though- even ones that can’t be found here.” Sitting up, Sean looked around the clearing, until his eyes landed on something a bit away from them. 

“A pea hen!” The blonde exclaimed, quickly getting up. Abhysial quickly sat up, watching his friend kneel in front of a bird, mostly brown in color. The peahen looked at Sean with seeming little interest or fear, before going back to what it was doing before. 

And then Sean-Floris picked it up, and Abhysial felt like he had just been drenched in ice-cold water.

“Wow, this little girl must’ve escaped from somewhere.” Sean spoke, completely unaware of the fact his friend was silently panicking. “No way wild ones are docile like this.” The peahen seemed to struggle in the knight’s hold, trying to peck at his arms, but not doing any damage due to the blonde’s armor. “Sean. Drop the bird!” Abhysial spoke, quickly rushing over, but not prying his friend’s hands off of the bird yet, out of fear he’d hurt it. 

“Why?” Sean asked, seemingly oblivious to the urgent tone in Abhysial’s voice. “I’m pretty sure this is a tamed peahen- one that’s not meant to be out in the forest on its own. Maybe we can keep it as a pet!”. “We can get another pet from somewhere else!” Abhysial spoke, panicked. “Please just let them go Sean! I promise we’ll-”. “Shh!” Sean suddenly spoke, on high alert. “Do you hear that?”.

Abhysial froze, quickly scanning the treeline and straining his ears to hear what his friend was hearing. It seemed as if hours had passed, while it had only been minutes. Abhysial was about to give up and ask Sean-Floris meant when he realized:

The forest had gone silent. The birds had stopped singing, Abhysial could not hear any critters running around nor could he hear twigs snapping or deer wander around. 

The forest, that had been full of life before, had gone dead silent.

“Oh no…” Abhysial spoke, quickly turning to Sean. “Sean. Please. Drop the bird now. I’m serious!” He spoke. “Didn’t you remember what the tavernkeep said?!”. “He warned us?!” Sean-Floris spoke, mildly confused. Abhysial remembered the words the tavernkeepsaid, the way he had urged him to go around the forest rather than through it, and Sean-

...Sean had passed out before the topic had come up…

“Sean. We’re trespassing on a deity’s domain.” Abhysial quickly spoke. “It’s safe so long as we don’t kill or take any animals so PLEASE DROP THE-”

Abhysial was interrupted by someone behind him, clearing their throat. 

“Let go of the peahen.” A feminine voice spoke, tone as cold as ice. Abhysial practically jumped out of his skin, quickly turning around and taking a few steps back, practically hiding behind Sean-Floris- who was still holding the bird. 

“Who are you?!” Sean-Floris demanded, tense but not as scared as Abhysial. “I am the protector of this forest, which goes against everything nature is known for.” The owner of the voice spoke. 

Abhysial dared to study the woman in front of him. She was rather tall, though still lsightly shorter than him, Her hair was an unusual color- a pale shade of pink- and braided into a thick braid. She had several markings painted on her arms- the most notably a picture of what looked like a deer with flowers blooming in its antlers on her upper right arm. She wore a gray shirt without sleeves, and flowy, white pants. Both seemed to have been made by a very light fabric, though they hid the shape of her torso and legs rather well. 

Though her appearance was only slightly unusual, her eyes were what truly scared Abhysial: While they were a normal, blue color, there was a cold fire behind them, a spark of something truly terrifying.

“Hundreds of years ago.” The woman spoke. “The envoy of life- who was tired of all the bloodshed nature and life caused- created this forest where life could flourish without being burdened by the natural order. They declared that no predator could enter, no poacher would ever leave. The forest has flourished for hundreds of years, and I have been defending it for just as long.” 

“...you don’t look that old though…” Sean spoke, practically giving Abhysial a heart attack with his bluntness. “Flattery will get you nowhere” The guardian of the forest spoke. “If you do not release that peahen right now, I will have to make you.” 

Sean-Floris frowned, staring the stranger down. “I… don’t think you’re speaking the truth…” He finally spoke. “I don’t think there’s a being known as the ‘envoy of life’ or something- and you’re DEFINITELY not hundreds of years old. If this peahen is yours you could just-”

Abhysial quickly shut his friend up, before he could truly anger the supposed guardian deity of this forest. “I’M SO SORRY!” He spoke, panicked. “We’ll let the peahen go just please don’t kill us!”

The forest guardian looked angier than she had been when first confronting the two, but did nothing aside from crossing her arms. “I am waiting…” She spoke, eyebrows furrowed. 

Annoyed at being treated this way, Sean-Floris broke out of Abhysial’s grasp. He was about to shout some words at the other when he seemingly changed his mind and gently set the peahen down, before turning to his friend and asking him what that was for.

“I’m sorry!” Abhysial whisper-shouted at his friend “I just didn’t want to get killed because you pissed a deity off!”. “Abhysial.” Sean-Floris spoke, annoyed. “She’s.not.a.deity.” 

“Is that so?” The woman spoke, pissed. “Is that truly what you believe?” 

“No!” Abhysial quicky spoke, at the same time Sean-Floris gave a quick “Yes”

“Very well…” the supposed guardian spoke. “I guess I have no choice but to show you then….”

The woman spread her arms out in front of her, as if holding a scepter, and both knights watched in amazement as one seemingly formed out of thin air. It didn’t look too impressive- a wooden staff in a similar shape to a shepherd’s crook, with green sludge seemingly frozen around the curved part. 

“Be grateful I will let you escape with your lives” The guardian spoke, eyes narrowed. “For it is uncommon for the beastlord to do so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohshiiiiiiiiiiiiii-
> 
> and yes I did end the chapter there because I suck at fighting scenes, was it obvious i'm scared of writing them?


	6. Vs. The Beastlord

Abhysial froze. Was- was this really happening?! Were he and Sean-Floris truly going to face off against a god? The guardian’s scepter glowed bright green, before a sphere of light separated from it, landing a little in front of the guardian. Once the light faded, Abhysial saw a green blob where the light had been mere seconds ago.

It looked rather…. harmless…

Sean-Floris let out a laugh, putting his blade- which he had drawn out of precaution- back into its sheath. “Really?!” He asked with amusement, before turning to Abhysial. “This is what you were so scared of? A tiny green ball of sli-”

Before the knight could even finish his sentence, the blob had launched itself at the blonde, landing square in his chest, and knocking him back quite a bit. Caught off guard, Sean-Floris fell backwards, and the slime continued its bouncy assault while the knight was unable to properly defend itself.

Abhysial turned back towards the beastlord, just in time to see her charging at him. Forced to back up, Abhysial could only defend while the woman attacked with sharp, precise strikes. She moved fast- faster than the dark-haired knight could keep up with. “Please!” He tried. “We’re sorry for what we did!” Please stop! We’ll NEVER COME BACK HERE AGAI-”. 

The beastlord broke through Abhysial’s defences, striking him once right in the middle of the chest. The knight staggered back a bit, but felt… fine aside from the force of the impact of the deity’s weapon. The beastlord had stopped her assault, just looking at the knight with a rather bored expression. Abhysial wondered why the weapon seemed to do so little, and looked at it. 

The beastlord seemed to be holding what appeared to be an ordinary leather whip.

...And the fact she wasn’t using it to beat the crap out of him meant the fight was over, right…?

“...C-can we go now?” Abhysial asked. “We never meant to offend! We just-”

Before the knight could finish his sentence he was struck from behind with enough force to knock him onto his knees. Abhysial only had a split second to look to his side to see what he had been hit by, before the blob bounced into his side, knocking him down even further. 

Abhysial could barely breathe as the blob continued to bounce around him, pushing him down every time he tried to get up. The dark-haired knight tried to use his sword to ward the creature off, but it was too agile for him to hit, bouncing around and dodging each slash with ease. 

“GET OFF OF HIM!” A voice shouted, before Abhysial saw the blob being slashed through with a sword. The blob- however, did not seem to mind being cut in half though, merely morphing around the blade rather than letting it cut it. “The heck?!” Sean-Floris spoke, confused as the blob kept attacking his friend. “To kill it, you must slay its summoner…” The beastlord spoke, having gone from enraged to… bored?

Sean-Floris’s head whipped to the woman, angered. With a war cry he charged at her, though too late he realized that it had been exactly what she had expected to happen. 

Dodging the initial stab, the beastlord grabbed Sean’s wrist, twisting it and forcing the knight to drop his blade. “Pathetic” She spoke. “These are the most powerful and skilled knights the king could send…? I don’t even need a weapon for this.”

With that, Sean-Floris was unceremoniously thrown onto the ground, next to where Abhysial was still struggling to deal with the slime. 

The beastlord let out a sigh, before summoning her staff once more. “Return to me.” She spoke, and the staff lit up, causing the slime to vanish- and Abhysial to collapse. 

“You two… are far weaker than I expected…” The beastlord spoke. “When I heard the news that the king would send two knights to keep an eye on things, I did not expect them to be so helpless and fragile…”. Abhysial let out a groan, though Sean-Floris immediately tried to get up, struggling due to his wounds. “You- you know nothing!” He spoke, determined despite the pain he was in. “We’re not done yet!. “You mean you’re not done yet.” The woman spoke, crossing her arms. “Your friend looks pretty done to me.”.

As if agreeing with the beastlord, Abhysial muttered a short ‘Please… stop angering gods’ at the blonde. 

The pink-haired woman let out a sigh, before walking over to the two knights. “Get up.” She commanded. “I will guide you out of this forest.”. Abhysial was more than willing to leave after the beating he had taken, and after a bit of a struggle, he managed to stand. Sean too, managed to get up, though it took significantly more time. 

Leading the way, the beastlord left the clearing the opposite way from which Sean-Floris and Abhysial had entered it, seemingly aware of where they had to go. A long, awkward silence stretched out between the three, only broken when Sean dared to ask a question.

“....soo….Guardian of the forest, right?” he asked the pink-haired woman. “I prefer to be called ‘the beastlord’” she replied. “My job within this forest is very limited, and I have a much greater role outside of it.”. “Right, so Ms. Beastlord.” Sean spoke, mildly annoyed “This… doesn’t prove you’re a deity.”. Abhysial was about to ask Sean to please shut up, when the beastlord replied. “It does not.” She admitted. “But it DOES prove that you will need to get a lot stronger if you wish to complete the mission the king gave you.”. “How… do you know about that?” Abhysial asked, nervous. 

The beastlord paused for a second, as if debating what she would say. “We’ve worked together in the past, before he became king.” She eventually spoke, continuing onwards. “I am in his debt- he aided me when it seemed as if all hope was lost, and for that I am eternally grateful.”

“Grateful enough to beat his knights up…” Sean muttered. “True.” The beastlord spoke. “And what I saw from you two is very concerning. If all it takes to kill you is a slime and someone who knows how to use a whip then you are woefully unprepared for the opponents you’ll have to face in the future.”. “We didn’t die.” Sean-Floris spoke, louder.

“Because I chose not to kill you” The beastlord responded.

The three lapsed into silence again. 

When Abhysial and Sean-Floris finally reached the edge of the forest, they wasted no time leaving it. Despite still being sore, Abhysial was grateful for the beastlord for guiding them out. “Keep following this path and you will soon reach your destination” The woman spoke, looking far less intimidating outside of the forest. 

“Will do!” Sean-Floris spoke, spotting two very familiar looking horses grazing at the edge of the forest. “AND WHERE THE HECK WERE YOU TWO?!” He shouted, quickly rushing over to the large animals, leaving Abhysial alone with the beastlord. “Thank you for guiding us out.” The dark-haired knight spoke, bowing a little. “We’ll be sure to tell Lord Graves your debt has been repaid.”

The beastlord seemed confused. “Lord...graves?” She asked. “Is that the name of the king?”. “Well... “ Abhysial spoke, a bit confused.. “You probably know him by his first name: Begravenis.”

“Weird” The beastlord muttered “That’s not who was supposed to-”

She quickly shook her head.

“Nevermind that.” She spoke. “I hope you have a pleasant journey. And please: make sure that other guy doesn’t piss off people he cannot best in battle.”

“...Will do” Abhysial spoke, carefully. He turned and headed to where Sean appeared to be scolding the horses, unease filling him at the thought that the king the beastlord knew was not the one currently on the throne.

\------------------------

_“Ey Boss! One of the hieroglyphs started glowing!”_

_A hooded figure dropped his quill- not at the sudden, loud volume, but at what was being said. “What?!” He practically hissed out. “One of the hieroglyphs started glowing.” the same voice spoke. “You know, the ‘Envoy of life’ one”._

_The hooded figure shot up from his chair, staggering over to the door. “Whoa-! Boss calm down! It’s-”. “Bring me there” the mysterious male commanded, gasping as the wound on his back throbbed painfully._

_“But sir it’s-”  
“NOW!”_

_The hooded male’s subordinate whinced, before allowing his superior to throw an arm around his shoulder, supporting his leader as the two made their way over to the glowing hieroglyphs._

_Once there, the hooded male saw that his subordinate spoke the truth: the runes carved into the surface of the caverns were glowing- depicting the defeat of two people by an entity the runes referred to as the Envoy of life._

_He had seen the glow before- and had deciphered it meant the event had happened._

_...it wasn’t supposed to._

_“Have you two gone to firefly forest?” He asked, hoping- no, PRAYING- they had. “N-no boss!” The male replied. “Neither one of us have left this place in like three weeks!”_

_Oh… oh no…_

_He had made a mistake._

_Oh no…_

_“Boss…?”_

_“...please…” The hooded male spoke, removing his arm from around his underling. “Leave me alone for a bit…”._

_After the sounds of footsteps had completely faded away, the mysterious man allowed himself to lean against the wall, careful to avoid leaning against it with his back. This was bad- he had made a grave mistake- one that could ruin everything._

_The hooded male quickly shook his head. He could still fix this- this was only the first of many._

_The mysterious man shuffeled over to where he remembered the second set of hieroglyphs to be, fighting off waves of nausea and dizziness. Looking up at the runes and markings carved into the wall, he came up with a plan._

_“I may have misjudged who the chosen ones are supposed to be…” He muttered, looking up at the large mural, depicting two figures raising their weapons up to what appeared to be a giant eye. “But they will reveal themselves to me soon enough…”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beastlord: so the king send his two most powerful men?  
> Sean-Floris: ye!  
> Beastlord: wonderful! When will I meet them?  
> Sean-Floris:  
> Sean-Floris:  
> Sean-Floris: wow rude


	7. Arrival

It could have been hours since Abhysial and Sean-Floris had left the forest, or it could have been minutes- the two were a bit too sore to pay much attention to the time after their encounter with the beastlord- when the two saw smoke rise from somewhere beyond the hills. “You think we’re finally there?” Sean-Floris asked, wincing as he sat up straighter. “Dunno…” Abhysial spoke, tired. “But I wouldn’t mind spending the night in an inn or tavern. I don’t wanna camp today…”. Sean-Floris hummed in agreement, before taking a deep breath and wiping all signs of discomfort from his face. “Even if this isn’t the place we’re supposed to be at” The blonde spoke. “It wouldn’t hurt to spend the night in comfort, would it~?”

Abhysial would never understand how his friend was able to act so chipper and cheerful while hurt. 

As the two got closer, they noticed a sign with an arrow on it, as well as the name of the village ahead. Sean-Floris glanced at it, before doing a double take and smiling broadly. “Looks like we’re done traveling~!” He spoke, and smiled a little more genuine. “Welcome to Gildenweald, Abhysial! Our future base of operation!”

The dark-haired knight perked up at that. “Really?!” He spoke, surprised. “We actually made it?!”. “Yup!” Sean-Floris spoke. “Last one there is a rotten egg!”. Before Abhysial could even say anything, the smaller knight had already sent his horse galloping down the path, towards the village ahead. Letting out a tired but amused sigh, Abhysial spurred his horse onward to follow the blonde.

Sean-Floris was the first to make it to the town, cheering as he did so.Iit didn’t take long for Abhysial to catch up though, grimacing as he brought his horse to a stop. 

They had made it…!

“Let’s find an inn or tavern, and then tomorrow we can talk to whichever noble is in charge around here.” Sean-Floris suggested, looking up at the sky. The sun had started to set, painting the sky in shades of orange, pink and purple. “...now that we’re here…” The blonde continued. “I’m sure we don’t have to worry as much about budgeting… do we?”.

Uh oh…

“Sean-” Abhysial started. “What are you planning?”. “We should have a feast tonight” The blonde answered, getting off of his horse. “To celebrate we made it here! We deserve it.”. Abhysial wanted to argue- he really did- but the idea of eating a large quantity of delicious food was too tempting to resist. 

And so, only thirty minutes later, Abhysial found himself practically inhaling a bowl worth of stew. The warm, hearty meal did the knight good, and he quickly ordered another one. “Hungry, aren’t ya?” One of the women working at the inn spoke. “It’s been a long journey” Sean-Floris replied as Abhysial started on his second helping. The blonde had chosen to feast upon pastries rather than meats and vegetables, and had some whipped cream on the tip of his nose. “This tastes awesome!” the dark-haired knight spoke, slowing down a bit. “Compliments to the cook!”. The woman giggled, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers. “Call me if you need anything else, ok?” She asked, before heading over to another table to help other patrons. 

Abhysial didn’t notice, but Sean couldn’t help but grin at the other. “Looks like someone’s interested in you.” The blonde teased, making Abhysial pause. “..Whafh?” The taller knight spoke, mouth full. “Abhysial!” Sean-Floris spoke in mock-surprise. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice that nice lady was trying to flirt with you!”.

Abhysial swallowed his food before tilting his head curiously. “Flirt?” He asked, seemingly unaware anything like that had occured. Sean-Floris debated whether or not to continue to act, and decided it was best to drop it for now. “Abhysial. She was interested in you.” Sean-Floris spoke. “She laughed at pretty much everything you said, and if not for the fact she was at work I’m sure she would have asked if you were willing to accompany her tonight.” 

Abhysial’s face got the same color as the strawberries on Sean’s slice of cake, sputtering out weak protests as his best friend laughed at his flustered state. “Calm down!” The blonde spoke, putting a fork full of cake into his mouth. “t’was gonna happen eventually: You’re a cute guy. I’m pretty sure that within a week you’ll have a harem worth of admirers.”

Abhysial made a sound as if he was dying. This was not something he wanted to talk about. 

“Sean please…” He begged, face still as red as a tomato. “Please stop talking…”. “Hmmm….Okay!” Sean-Floris spoke, before shrugging. “Though don’t be surprised when people practically-”.”SEAN!”.

The blonde gremlin couldn’t help but burst out laughing at his friend’s discomfort. It was moments like these that Abhysial wondered how he had ended up with Sean-Floris as his best friend. The guy was reckless, proud and had no sense of self preservation and a LOT of energy to burn. It reminded the dark-haired man of a squirrel on a sugar rush. 

Still, he wouldn’t trade Sean for the world- despite his flaws the blonde was fiercely loyal and unafraid to challenge authority figures when they went against his morals. 

...That’s how they met, actually…

“Excuse me” A voice spoke up to Abhysial’s left. “Are you two the knights sent here by the king?” 

Abhysial looked up from his bowl of stew and saw a tall man with sand-colored hair and pale-green eyes. The man had an easy, relaxed smile as he looked at the knights. 

“...depends on who’s asking” Sean-Floris answered, not sure if he should trust this stranger. “My name’s Mark Ceress” The stranger spoke, unphased by Sean’s suspicion. “I am the mayor’s right-hand man, and the one responsible for the construction of the barracks. Someone informed me they had seen two knights enter the town, and I figured you two were the ones Lord Graves sent to help with our bandit problem!” 

“We are…” Abhysial spoke, smiling. “Nice to meet you, Sir Ceress.”. Mark seemed to flinch at that, before looking down at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing in existence. “P-please just call me Mark…” He asked quietly. “I’m really not used to being referred to as ‘Sir’. It makes me feel old…”. “All right, Mark.” Sean-Floris spoke.

An awkward silence followed, only ending after the Mayor’s right hand man cleared his throat. “I came to ask you two if it was possible to meet with Sir Foster after you were done dining- I-It’s okay if you’d prefer to do so tomorrow but it’s kind of urgent…”

Abhysial and Sean shared a look, before turning back to the nervous giant. “Sure” Sean spoke. “After we’re done we’ll try and find… where he is.”. Mark seemed relieved to hear Sean’s answer, letting out a sigh. “No need for that!” The tall male spoke. “I’ll just wait outside until the two of you are done and bring you to him!”. Abhysial blinked. “There’s really no need for that.” He spoke. “Still. I insist!” Mark replied “It’s the least I can do.”

And so, thirty minutes later, the two knights followed the nervous giant towards what appeared to be the town hall. Abhysial had some flashbacks to two weeks back, when Commander Sylvie led them down to the throne room. 

This was kind of similar, wasn’t it?

Finally, the trio arrived in front of an oak door. “This is Sir Foster’s office.” Mark spoke. “I bet he’d be grateful you managed to meet him today. These bandits have been a real problem lately.”. 

With that, Mark turned and knocked on the door, “Sir Foster?” He asked. “The knights sent by lord Graves have arrived.”. “Come in” A calm, melodic voice spoke from the other side. ‘This was it’ Abhysial thought. ‘I wonder what Sir Foster is like…’

Mark opened the door, stepping aside so the two knights could enter. “Good luck!” He spoke, closing the door behind them. 

A man with long, white hair and snow-white skin sat behind a desk, covered in various important-looking papers. Despite his unusual hair color, his skin showed no signs of old age, and his eyes were the brightest blue Abhysial had ever seen. 

“Thank you for coming on such short notice.” Sir Foster spoke. “Please, take a seat. I do hope the journey wasn’t too unpleasant?”. 

Sean-Floris sat down on one of the two chairs closest to the door of the office. “It is no trouble,” He spoke. “Lord Graves told us of the importance of our task, so we figured it would be best to arrive as fast as we could.”. Abhysial quietly sat down next to his friend. 

“I am very grateful nonetheless.” Sir Foster spoke, smiling, before sighing. “But I’m afraid the situation has worsened ever since I asked our king for aid.”. “How?” Sean-Floris asked. “Did the number of bandits and thieves increase?”. Sir Foster grimaced. “It is worse than that.” He spoke, sounding tired. “In addition to the bandits, recently there has been rumor of strange, supernatural things happening in the area: Graveyards popping up out of nowhere, strange entities that look like severed eyes flying around at night- and if that’s not enough, there’s rumor that there’s a necromancer raising an army of undead! Some have reported seeing wandering corpses at night.”

Abhysial paled at the mention of walking corpses, though Sean-Floris only frowned at the news, showing no response other than concern. “Has Lord Graves heard of this?” He asked. “I sent him a letter as soon as I caught wind of the first few rumors” Sir Foster answered. “though I have only been able to confirm the ones about the strange graveyards.” 

“I see.” Sean-Floris spoke. “And you requested aid so that we could help train some men so that the town could have capable guards to protect it from whatever is happening?”. “Exactly” Sir Foster replied. “The people don’t seem too concerned, given that they believe they are protected by the town’s guardians, but I figured if the king sent over some knights, they would start to see that perhaps even their supposed ‘protectors’ would need help.”

Abhysial took in everything he had heard in the conversation, tuning out the rest of it. Lord Graves had said that he had felt a shift in the world, and that perhaps the followers of the former king could be up to no good… but this felt like it was so much greater than just a few disgruntled nobles. 

Would they truly stoop that low? To turn towards dark magic?!

Abhysial was snapped out of his thoughts when Sean-Floris got up. “Again, thank you so much for your willingness to aid us.” Sir Foster spoke. “As stated before: it is our duty as knights to help those in need.” Sean-Floris replied, flashing his signature, charming smirk at the Mayor. Abhysial quickly got up as well, embarrassed he had missed part of the conversation. “Mark will guide you towards the guest rooms.” Sir Foster spoke. “He should be waiting outside for you- please don’t take his eagerness to help the wrong way, he’s just… excited to be able to meet two of the king’s knights.”. “Don’t worry about it!” The blonde spoke. “He’s kind of like a big dog, it’s sorta cute.”.

Sir Foster chuckled. “That he is. Tomorrow, I will introduce you to the one who will be your guide, but please, try to get as much rest as you can tonight. I do not think anyone would be able to tell what the future brings with all the things that have been happening....”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sean-Floris: So Abhyss. U got flirted with ( ͡⚆ ͜ʖ ͡⚆)  
> [Abhysial.exe has stopped working]
> 
> Sean-Floris: So......bandits-  
> Sir Foster: boi da's the least of our issues.


	8. Guide

The next day Abhysial awoke to knocking on the door of his bedroom. “Oh Abhys~” Sean-Floris’s voice rang out from the other side of the door, a mixture of mischievous and exited “Are you ready to explore the town~?”. “Fivemoremin…” The dark-haired knight groaned, not fully awake yet. “No can do!” Sean spoke, still excited. “I’ll give you two before I barge in!”.

Huh… the blonde must’ve really been eager…

“Fiiiiine”. Abhysial muttered, hoping it was loud enough for his friend to hear. “Lemme get dressed please…”. A cheer sounded from the other side. “That I CAN do!” Sean-Floris spoke. “I got us breakfast from the local bakery, so you better hurry up! Mark looked as if he could devour a whole cinnamon loaf, and there’s only so much I can do before I succumb to his puppy-like qualities and give him some- which means there’ll be less for you.”

There was a sound of footsteps, quickly fading as Sean-Floris hurried over- most likely to feast on the food he had bought himself. Abhysial sat up, smirking. No wonder Sean always had so much energy- it was only natural with how much sugar the smaller knight consumed. 

It took a bit longer than expected for Abhysial to get up from the bed (it was just too comfortable! It was a comfort he had missed and his still somewhat sore body desperately craved) and got dressed, but fifteen minutes later he wandered the halls of the mayoral residence, to what he assumed was the dining room. Sir Foster had given both a tour the day prior, given that they would have to stay a while before the barracks and training grounds would be done- not to mention the fact that apparently both Sir Foster and Mark had insisted on giving both an office at the barracks so that they could write reports to the king and document anything worth noting in peace.

Abhysial was flattered that both Sir Foster and his right-hand man saw him and Sean-Floris as important enough to construct two whole new living quarters- because the conversation had shifted from ‘offices’ to ‘private chambers’ quite quickly- specifically for them, but it would also mean that construction would take a bit longer than anticipated. 

Not that the dark-haired knight minded- he had his own bedroom while living with the Mayor, which meant he had far more privacy than he had while serving directly under the king. 

...not to mention the bed had been extremely comfortable…

Finally arriving in the spacious room, he saw a rather large pile of various types of breads and meats- as well as a few fruits. Mark was standing near the pile, looking hungry and quite unsure of himself. Sir Foster was by his side, a mixture of surprise and amusement on his face. 

Abhysial could only assume Sean-Floris was on the other side of the pile of food. 

“Good morning.” The dark-haired knight greeted. “Is… there a reason for this mountain of food? Sean-Floris told me he had bought breakfast but… this can’t all b-”. “You got that right!” Sean-Floris spoke, head poking out to the left of the pile. “Feel free to take whatever you want! Breakfast’s on me!” 

Sir Foster couldn’t help but snort in amusement, covering his mouth and trying not to burst out laughing. Mark just looked at where Sean-Floris supposedly sat, clearly wanting to ask if he could have some, but not sure how to without seeming disrespectful or annoying. 

“There’s… no way we can eat all this…” Abhysial spoke. “How did you even afford it all?!”. “I have my own money, Abhysial.” Sean-Floris spoke. “I decided to splurge a little.”. “An understatement, if I ever heard it.” Sir Foster spoke, amused. 

“Want some?”  
“I’ve already had breakfast, but thank you for the offer! Perhaps my assistant could use a meal though, if you don’t mind extending the offer to him…”

Mark perked up, and Abhysial could see why Sean-Floris referred to the giant as ‘puppy like’. “Sure!” The blonde replied, taking a pastry from somewhere on the pile and holding it out for the taller male to take. “Take whatever you want! Oh! And maybe the leftovers could go to whoever is helping you with building the barracks and training grounds?” 

Mark’s face lit up as he took the pastry. “Thank you Sir-.... err….”

A short, awkward silence followed. “I...don’t think I’ve asked for your name…” Mark spoke, clearly embarrassed. Abhysial had to stifle a laugh. “It’s Sean-Floris!” The smaller of the two knights spoke. “I don’t exactly have a last name, but you can call me Sir Floris if you want!” Sean then seemed to turn towards Abhysial, though the dark-haired knight couldn’t really see it from where he stood. “And that’s Abhysial Khalil” Sean-Floris spoke. 

“P-pleasure to meet you…” Mark spoke, clearly embarrassed that he had forgotten to ask for the two knights their names. Abhysial couldn’t help but smile. He had a sinking feeling he would be able to get along quite nicely with the awkward, puppy-like giant.

After breakfast, Sir Foster asked the two knights to follow him. “I have asked someone to help guide and inform you on this town and the surrounding areas.” The mayor spoke. “He should be waiting near the fountain in the town square.”. “Any way we can recognize him?” Sean-Floris asked, not as affected by all the sugar he consumed as he should have been. “His name is Oliver Gids” The mayor spoke “He has short, light brown hair and tends to wear a beige, long sleeved shirt and gray-ish blue pants.”

Sean-Floris thanked the king, before dragging Abhysial with him towards the Mayoral residence’s main entrance. “If we’re lucky we can find the guy before noon!” The blonde spoke, pulling at the taller knight’s arm with more force than necessary. “I’m following you, no need to drag me all the way!” Abhysial spoke, trying to get his arm loose while keeping up with the smaller male. Sean let go. “‘m sorry” He apologized. “I’m just excited! Our mission is finally starting for real!” 

Abhysial rolled his eyes. “That’s not an excuse to try and dislocate my arm.” He spoke, amused. “I can’t help it that you’re so slow.” Sean shot back, sticking out his tongue. The two kept teasing and poking fun at the other until they reached the town square. “This should be the place, right?” Sean-Floris spoke, looking around. “It should be... “ Abhysial replied, spotting a man sitting on a bench next to the fountain, reading a book. He had short brown hair, and his outfit matched the description Sir Foster gave them earlier, so the black-haired knight headed over. 

“Excuse me” He spoke, causing the stranger to look up. “Are you perhaps Oliver Gids?” “That would be me, yes.” The man- Oliver- spoke, closing his book and getting up. “I take it you are Sir Khalil, one of the two knights sent by Lord Graves?”. “That would be true!” Abhysial spoke, noticing Sean only now seemed to realize Abhysial had found their guide. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you” Oliver spoke after Sean-Floris had finally joined them. “Allow me to show you around town. There are many places you should know about. Follow me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tl;DR:  
> Sean-Floris: FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD  
> Mark: OwO  
> Sir Foster: lol   
> Abhysial: That toll guy looks like a friend.
> 
> Oliver: Hi I am a canon NPC with a non-canon name. My last name literally means 'guide'


	9. Tour

The town was bustling with life. Children playing on the street, cats sleeping on barrels and in front of doors and merchants selling their wares to anyone who had enough copper to pay for them. Oliver barely seemed to pay attention to most of the stalls, occasionally pausing so that the two knights he was guiding could catch up with him.

They were far more interested in the things they saw, not having seen much of the small town the day prior. Sean-Floris practically sprinted from stall to stall, quickly looking over the wares being sold before moving on. Abhysial took a bit more time looking around, even buying himself a snack to eat while touring the place. 

Oliver sighed. It was good these two were so curious- curiosity leads to knowledge after all- but this wasn’t what he was planning to show them, and if they kept this up it would take far longer to show them all they needed to see and learn about. It wasn’t a huge problem, but still something the guide hadn’t taken into account. 

After an hour or so the trio finally arrived at their first stop: a blacksmith. “This is the local weapon- and armorsmith” Oliver spoke for the first time since the initial tour began. “Sir Foster has made a deal with the blacksmith- so long as you bring him the materials he requires, he will make you armor and weapons out of them free of charge. The town is willing to pay for your equipment and that of those who’ll become our guards.”. “Neat!” Sean-Floris spoke, looking around the building. It wasn’t much- just a stone building made to be able to withstand the heat and fire that came with the job of being a smith, without risk of it burning down. 

“...where would we get the materials though?” Abhysial asked. “There’s a bunch of large cave systems around these parts.” Oliver explained. “While they may be dangerous, they have plenty of valuable ores and minerals- even some gemstones! With the right tools you can find enough materials there to provide an entire army with gear.” Amused, the guide watched Abhysial practically beam at the news, while Sean-Floris only seemed to grow paler. 

Looks like one of them didn’t like the idea of being underground….

“You mean we get to go spelunking?!” Abhysial asked, excitement evident in his voice. “Well-” Oliver started, before Sean-Floris cut him off. “M-maybe, though I’m sure there are miners in this town who go down there to collect ores and valuables too- perhaps we can just buy the materials off of them?” 

Abhysial seemed to deflate at that, and Oliver couldn’t help but smirk: Sean-Floris wasn’t going to like what the guide would say next.

“There were.” Oliver spoke, carefully observing the two knight’s reactions. “But recently there’s been news of monsters and giant, aggressive bats who’d attack anyone they came across, and most miners were forced to quit because they didn’t know how to defend themselves against them. There’s a small underground settlement where the more resilient and stubborn miners live, but if you wish to get the resources needed for better armor and weapons, you’ll have to mine them yourself.” 

The look on Sean-Floris’s face was priceless, and it took every single ounce of self-control the guide had to keep himself from laughing out loud. 

Abhysial seemed completely oblivious to his friend’s feelings, practically vibrating in excitement at the prospect. “Sean, this is so cool!” He shouted, turning to his friend. “We get to explore caves, find hidden treasure and uncover ancient mysteries! There’s even an underground city! How cool is that?!”. “V-very…” Sean-Floris replied, mentally trying to find ways to avoid going down into the caves. 

After meeting the blacksmith and having a short conversation with the man, the trio continued onward. With the ice now broken, conversation flowed easily between the three- though it was mostly Sean-Floris talking with Abhysial and Oliver occasionally throwing in their own two cents. Neither of the two knights were spending as much time looking around as they did before they had reached the blacksmith, which got them to their next destination far more quickly.

“This is the town’s general store.” Oliver spoke, motioning towards a rather plain-looking building. “The store owner has connections with the merchant guild, so they’ve offered to buy some of the items you find, so that they can resell them to whatever merchant would be looking to buy them. I feel like it’d be a good way to make money- at least until the barracks are finished and you can start training others.” Sean-Floris let out a thoughtful humm. “What do they sell here?” He asked, looking through one of the windows. “Quite a lot, actually!” Oliver replied, seeing the blonde knight was doing some mental maths. “While their stock isn’t really changing much, I’ve heard rumors they’re planning to expand.”. Sean-Floris’s face lit up. “I’ll be back in a bit!” He spoke, heading inside the store.

Turns out ‘a bit’ was roughly thirty minutes, and Sean-Floris left with a bag filled with various items, smirking. “This is going to come in handy…” He spoke, to no one in particular. Neither Abhysial or Oliver questioned him, and the brown-haired guide led the knights to their next, and final destination for the day. 

On the edge of the town, opposite from where the two knights first entered it, was a large construction site. Workers moved around, some reading plans, others carrying materials while some were actively working on putting support beams in place. Three workers seemed to be listening to the instructions of a familiar giant. 

The knights and guide waited patiently until Mark had sent the construction workers on their way, before turning towards the trio. 

“Good day!” He spoke, clearly forcing himself to act cheerful. “Have you come to show them the future barracks? It doesn’t look like much right now, but we’re diligently working towards completing them.”. “I have.” Oliver spoke. “Is something wrong though? You seem quite uneasy…”. “W-Well…” Mark started ,clearly uncomfortable. “I’d… like to discuss that with the knights in private, if you don’t mind… S-sorry Oliver…”. “No need to worry.” the guide replied coolly. “I understand.” 

Oliver turned towards the two knights. “It seems our tour has come to an end for today. I live in the green building near the town square. Feel free to visit me if you need advice…”. With that, the knights said their goodbyes to the guide, who left the construction site. 

“Follow me…” Mark spoke, not sounding as upbeat as he did before.

The tall blonde let the knights to a tent, which was filled with various tools and blueprints. “Take a seat…” Mark spoke, sitting down himself. “There’s been an issue with building materials recently.” The tall male spoke, sighing. “Normally we get our resources for Diepte- a mining settlement somewhere deep in the caverns nearby.”. “Oliver told us about them!” Abhysial spoke, perking up at the mention of the caverns. “Did something happen?”. “We were supposed to get materials such as stones five days ago” Mark spoke, cutting right to the case. “But we haven’t heard or seen any of them, and I’m worried something may have happened.” 

The blonde construction worker let out a sigh, before getting up, pacing around. “I know they’re supposed to be able to handle themselves…” He started. “But it worries me how silent things have been- I think something bad happened to them…”

Mark paused, turning towards the two knights. “I...I know it’s a lot to ask…” He started, uncertain of himself. “And it is unfair of me to ask you to do this when you’ve only just arrived in town and don’t even have a proper place to live yet, but… could you check on them to see if they’re okay? I’m really worried….” 

“Of course we’ll help!” Abhysial spoke, before Sean-Floris even had a chance to say anything. “Just lead us to the entrance of the caverns and we’ll try and see what happened!”. “R-Really?!” Mark asked, a look of awe on his face. 

Sean-Floris internally sighed, before looking straight at the other blonde. “Of course!” He spoke, voice slightly shaky. “It’s our duty as knights to help after all…!”

Neither Abhysial nor Mark noticed just how shaky and nervous Sean-Floris sounded. 

This was not going to be fun….

  
\-----------------------

_The envoy was pissed, and that was putting it mildly._

_She walked trough the halls of the castle with purpose, not having patience to deal with those who got in her way._

_A knight was flung into a wall- the hit not hard enough to kill, but he’d definitely be unconscious for a while. Another dared to raise their sword at the envoy, with resulted in him joining his colleague on the ground._

_The castle had been in a state of emergency when the deity appeared, breaking through its defences as if they were no more than a mild inconvenience. Knights, soldiers and guards were summoned to protect their king, but each and every one fell before the envoy, who only grew angrier and angrier the longer it took for her to find the one she was searching for,_

_He had some explaining to do._

_Finally, she sensed him- a distinct, magic-infused presence that would have many cower in front of it. Not the envoy- she would not yield for any mortal, no matter how powerful they’re supposed to be._

_Throwing open the doors, she found the one she’d been looking for- sitting on the throne as if he belonged there, a silver crown upon his head._

_The ‘king’ didn’t look afraid of her, though his brow was furrowed in concern._

_“Nisha” He spoke. “May I ask what-”. The envoy didn’t let the false king continue, quickly closing in on the other._

_“Explain” She commanded, her scepter under the king’s chin, forcing him to look up at her._

_For a minute, the king and envoy didn’t break eye contact, both staring at the other- the envoy with a look of barely-suppressed rage, and the king with a solemn look of acceptance._

_Lord Graves let out a sigh. “It is… quite a long story…” He started, looking away and biting his lower lip out of habit. “It’ll take me time to explain everything to you…”_

_“Then you better start now.” The envoy spoke._

_“What did you do to the one who was destined to overthrow the tyrant?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tl;DR:  
> Oliver: So there are caves here  
> Abhysial: yES I LOVE CAVES 8D  
> Sean-Floris: [internal screaming]
> 
> Oliver: So you can buy and sell stuff here  
> Sean-Floris: yES I LOVE CONSUMERISM 8D  
> Abhysial: lol cool
> 
> Mark: My mining pals are probably in danger :c  
> Abhysial: We gotta help the toll friend  
> Sean-Floris: [agrees while internally screaming]
> 
> Envoy: yo what the frick frack snick snack click clack r u doing on the throne?????  
> Lord Graves: Do you have time? It may take a while to explain everything.


	10. Caves

Being led to the cave entrance was an experience in and off itself. Mark walked ahead of the two knights through a grassy field, seemingly heading to a large hill. Abhysial couldn’t help but practically skip, walking next to the blonde giant with a slight jump in his step. The two chatted amicably while Sean-Floris lagged behind a little, clearly less enthusiastic. 

Once the trio got closer to the hill, Abhysial noticed it was really an enterance to what appeared to be a mine. “This should be the place.” Mark spoke, taking off his backpack and rummaging trough it. “Given the fact that these mines are well-maintained, you should have no trouble following the signs of civilization towards Diepte. Still, I got some items for you that may help.” 

The blonde pulled out a scroll and two copper pickaxes from the bag. Unfurling the parchment revealed a map of sorts. “Is this a map of the mines and caverns?” Abhysial asked, taking a closer look at the paper. “It is!” Mark spoke. “Please use this if it seems like you’ve lost the way.”. 

“Thanks…” Came a very ungrateful sounding mumble from Sean-Floris, who eyed the map as if it had personally offended him. “But… why the pickaxes?” The shorter knight asked. 

Mark’s face turned kind of red. “W-well…” The nervous giant spoke. “I figured that while you’re down there, there’s a pretty big chance you’d find materials that could come in handy- such as gemstones and ore. Abhysial told me that the blacksmith is willing to forge new weapons and armor for you if you find the right materials for it, so I figured it could… help you…?” 

Sean-Floris sighed. “Sorry” He apologized to the blonde construction worker. “I’m just a bit… uneasy…”. “Worried about the miners?” Abhysial asked “Don’t worry! Mark said they’d be able to handle themselves, we’ll probably just be looking around a bit and searching as to why things have been quiet!” 

It was obvious the dark-haired knight was completely unaware that while sean-Floris’s concerns played a part, it was not the main issue the blonde was facing. 

“let’s go~!” Abhysial spoke, marching off into the mines, Sean-Floris following until a hand on his shoulder stopped him. 

“Are you okay?” Mark asked, having finally noticed something was wrong with the blonde knight. “...I’m fine. Don’t worry” Sean-Floris spoke. “Just… the idea of being underground makes me uncomfortable…”. 

Mark looked startled at the revelation. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know!” The gentle giant immediately apologized. “I- err… I could go myse-”. “Don’t” Sean interrupted. “As a knight, it is my duty to make sure civilians are safe. It doesn’t matter than I’m uncomfortable- these people could be in serious trouble, and putting aside your own worries and hesitation is par for the course. I can’t in good faith let you go down there when it is obvious something serious could be going on.” 

With that, Sean-Floris headed into the cave, missing Mark’s expression morph from surprise to admiration.

“...Cool…” The tall blonde muttered, before heading back. He had a lot to think about.

Once inside the entrance to the mines, Sean-Floris couldn’t help but hesitate. He HATED the idea of being underground, but he had accepted the idea that he’d have to do things against his will when he first became a knight, so he really couldn’t just back out. 

“What took you so long?” Abhysial asked, clearly still unaware of how Sean-Floris felt. “Mark asked something.” The blonde spoke, taking a deep breath before following Abhysial deeper into the mines. “So… any idea where the mines stop and the caves start?” The blonde asked, warily eyeing the support beams above the two. “According to this map there’s a steep drop ahead.” Abhysial spoke, unaware those words practically gave Sean a heart attack. “Apparently there’s some rope to help us down- it shouldn’t be too bad!”

Sean-Floris began to regret his career choice.

The rope had indeed been of help when it came to descending down- mainly because of the weird devices attached to it. At first glance it appeared like a bunch of gears held together by metal, wrapped around the rope, but after studying it for a bit, it was clearly meant to help one descent safely into the caverns- and to allow easy exit as well! 

...all that was required was grip strength and the ability to hold on for an undetermined amount of time, something neither knight was really sure they could do. “...you go first…” Abhysial spoke, a bit worried. “Why me?!” Sean asked, shock evident in his voice. “Because you worked in a circus, weren’t you an acrobat?” Abhysial asked. “This should be easier for you, especially since you’d have some grip strength already, and know how to hang on for longer.”. 

Sean wanted to argue- he really did. But Abhysial had a point. 

Grumbling a little, the blonde knight took one of the devices, and stepped off of the edge he had been standing on. 

To whoever designed the item’s credit, it worked well. Sean-Floris slowly descended down the rope, not able to see much as his surroundings grew darker and darker. It felt like hours- though it had only been around forty seconds- before the blonde’s feet touched the ground.

Unable to see anything, Sean-Floris stumbled around, tripping over something small, breaking it in the process, the sounds reaching Abhysial. 

“You okay down there?!” Came a distant shout. “I’m okay!” Sean spoke, quietly cursing his clumsiness. “It’s not too bad! Dark as heck down here though…”. 

Abhysial grabbed a second device, slowly making his way down while Sean-Floris tried to find what he had just tripped over- it sounded like it had been a clay pot or something like it. His fingers brushed against something wooden, and the blonde picked it up, quickly letting go of it with a rather undignified yelp when it seemed to burst into flame on its own accord. 

An enchanted torch.

Feeling around where Sean figured the item had fallen, he once again felt the wooden texture of the torch, and this time, was prepared for the sudden light it provided. Looking around, it seemed as if there were several more of the magical items scattered around, as well as a few coins and broken pottery shards. He must’ve tripped over the pot. 

“How’d you get that torch?” Abhysial asked, having finally reached the bottom, curiously looking at the source of light. “I got it by being the epitome of grace and beauty!” Sean-Floris replied, ignoring the broken pot behind him. “I got you one as well!”. 

Once both knights were equipped with torches, they moved further into the cave. Abhysial had calmed down a little, while Sean-Floris remained tense. It didn’t take long before the two found something… unusual: an abandoned cabin, neatly tucked into the walls of the cavern and held up by large, wooden supports. The building was relatively small- most likely only containing a single room- and there were holes in both the ceiling and floor. Cobwebs covered the walls and a thick blanket of dust covered the few pieces of furniture that were left behind. 

The two knights decided to take a break, sitting down inside the dusty old cabin. 

“I don’t like this…” Sean complained, sitting on the floor with his back pressed against one of the walls. “Why’s this cave so big?”. “I dunno…” Abhysial replied, looking over the map. “But we’re close! It should only take one more hour and we’ll be in Diepte.”. “Hurrah….” Sean-Floris cheered, ready to figure out what was wrong, fix it and go back to the surface. 

A sudden sound came from somewhere outside of the cabin, startling both knights. Sean-Floris got up and unsheathed his blade, motioning for Abhysial to do the same. The dark-haired knight silently took out his blade, muscles tense as he braced himself. 

For a minute, it seemed as if nothing had happened, but then a loud ‘thump’ sound could be heard, followed by what sounded like a single knock on the door, followed by a beat of silence before another knock could be heard. Sean-Floris slowly made his way over to the door, trying his hardest not to make a single sound as he approached it. A few floorboards creaked and sagged under his weight, but the blonde managed to stay relatively quiet. Abhysial didn’t follow, choosing to stay back a little, observing. 

Sean-Floris put his hand on the doorknob, the sound of the occasional knock putting him on edge, even though he knew it could be one of the miners of Diepte, who had seen him and Abhysial enter the run-down cabin. 

Something told him that wasn’t the case, though.

Bracing himself for the worst, Sean-Floris opened the door. 

The blonde knight didn’t have much of a chance to look at who was there, before they had forced their way in, causing Sean-Floris to back up as they swiped at him with skelethal, claw-like hands. The blonde let out a yelp as the creature’s claws managed to hit his cheek, managing to cut it. The blonde slashed at the being, though it seemed relatively unphased even as it was hit right in the chest, again swiping at the blonde, who only barely managed to avoid getting hit again, slashing at the assailant again. An unnerving sound rose as the blade cut through sponge-like flesh.

It again, didn;t seem too bothered by it. 

“ABHYSS I’D APPRECIATE SOME HELP!” Sean-Floris shouted, backing up more and snapping the dark-haired knight out of his frozen state. The taller knight quickly rushed over, managing to land a solid hit against the monster, making it lose one of its arms. With another slash, Abhysial managed to cut the creature in half.

Neither one of the two spoke, Sean-Floris recovering from the adrenaline kick he’d gotten and Abhysial trying to comprehend just what the monster he had cut down looked like. 

The creature had pale, green-ish skin, clinging tightly around its bones and missing a few chunks on some spots. It wore a miner’s hat and a blue vest, as well as dark grey pants. Parts of its body were mangled, clearly having been that way long before it had tried to attack the two knights.

An undead…. and judging by his clothes… a former resident of Diepte.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TL;DR  
> Mark: so here's caves  
> Abhysial: IMMA YEET MYSELF IN THERE  
> Sean-Floris: FOR GLORY!   
> Mark: coooool owo
> 
> Sean-Floris: I'm beauty I'm grace I fell flat on my face.
> 
> Undead miner: Swiggity swooty coming for that booty


	11. Descent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't write for 3 weeks and immediately my writing downgrades rip

Neither one of the two knights spoke as they descended further down into the cavern. Sean’s cheek stung a little, but the blonde didn’t seem too bothered by it. Abhysial on the other hand no longer felt like the underground was a safe place. They had been lucky the undead had given them a warning before attacking, something the two knights didn’t get the next two times, when a bat had targeted Sean and a gray-ish blob of slime felt it necessary to try and dissolve part of Abhysial’s armor. 

The dark-haired knight was exhausted and sore, but he knew he couldn’t rest now- not without cover. The caverns had proven themselves to be extremely dangerous. 

Just as he thought so, Abhysial caught something sparkly and red in the corner of his eye. A large, heart-shaped crystal stood, seemingly being balanced by a few rocks a little away from the two knights. Curious, Abhysial approached the gemstone. He was a few steps away from it, when his foot seemed to sink a little lower than he expected. Distantly, the dark-haired knight could hear a click, but it was mostly drowned out by Sean’s alarmed cry. 

Abhysial felt something smack into him, throwing him aside, and the ground shook- or that could just be him falling. Slightly disoriented and fearing the worst, the dark knight began to struggle against whatever had pushed him. “It’s me!” A familiar voice shouted. “You almost got yourself killed!”. Opening his eyes, he saw Sean-Floris leaning over him, eyes wide and filled with concern. Abhysial looked past the blonde, where he had just stood seconds earlier. 

A large chunk of rock seemed to have fallen where the knight had stood, and Abhysial paled at the realization that he could have easily died had Sean not paid attention.

“T-Thanks…” The dark-haired knight muttered, gently pushing his savior off of him. “That was close.” “It was!” Sean pouted, crossing his arms, though the worried look stayed on his face. “You shouldn’t run off on your own.” The blonde continued “This place has zombies, bats, slimes and apparently death traps too!”. “Sorry…” Abhysial apologized, feeling bad for making his friend worry. “I just saw this gem and…”

Sean looked at the red heart-shaped jewel with a frown. “It’s probably a trap” He spoke, getting up. Taking out his pickaxe, he smashed the gemstone. 

...Except, when the pick broke the gem’s surface, a red mist seemed to pour out, swirling up Sean-Floris’s arms before disappearing around where his heart should be. It happened so fast, neither one had time to grasp the situation before the mist had faded. 

Now Abhysial was the one worried. 

“What the heck was that?!” He shouted, turning his friend back towards him and looking for signs of harm. “Are you hurt?! Are you feeling okay? Did it do anything?!”. “S-stop shaking me like I’m a pair of maracas!” Sean protested, taking a step back and prying his friend’s arms off of his shoulders. “I’m…. okay?” Sean spoke, looking at his arms. “Like… I’m not hurt, and I feel… more durable…? If that makes sense?” 

It really didn’t, but Abhysial was just glad to see his friend was okay. 

Sean on the other hand seemed strangely excited about whatever the weird heart-shaped gem did. 

“We gotta find more of these!” He exclaimed, grabbing Abhysial’s wrist and dragging the dark-haired knight off. Abhysial was still a bit worried, but it seemed as if something about that gem had energized his friend, and so it couldn’t be a BAD thing…. right?

The two knights traveled further down into the depths, finding several more of the heart-shaped gems, and Abhysial got to experience… whatever that red mist did. Sean was right- it DID make him feel as if he was able to take more hits. 

The two also began to see signs of civilization: torches that had only recently burned out, scraps of paper and bits of fabric. “We must be close…” Abhysial spoke, picking up the pace. Sean followed, sword out just in case the town was overrun with the monsters the two had faced on their way here. 

Abhysial was the first to leave the tunnel the two had been traveling through, coming across a large, open area in front of the two. Neither the ceiling or the floor of the cavern were visible, but in the distance, the dark-haired knight could see a few buildings like the run-down cabin the two had found, supported by wooden pillars that disappeared somewhere within the darkness below. A long, wooden and stone bridge led from the exit of the tunnel towards the collection of cabins, lanterns being placed around every few meters. 

This had to be Diepte. 

Sean-Floris whistled from his spot next to Abhysial. “That’s a rather unique looking settlement…” The blonde knight spoke. “Think they’re okay over there?” 

Abhysial bit his lower lip. “I’m not sure…” The dark-haired knight confessed. “We didn’t see any monsters while approaching, but… what if they all died from something else?”. “We won’t know until we see for ourselves.” Sean spoke, taking the lead and carefully making his way across the bridge, which despite looking sturdy, still creaked from time to time. 

The closer the pair got to Diepte, the more Abhysial realized that while some houses were entirely supported by wooden beams, there was a stone platform coming from one of the walls, which held most cabins- and probably most of Diepte’s population. Some people- healthy and _alive_ \- seemed to be wandering around, some grouped together near a large purple gem, seemingly floating a little above the ground. 

It seemed as if the residents of Diepte were safe.

“They’re all right?” Abhysial asked, genuinly surprised. “I’m as amazed as you are…” Sean replied. After all the pain and near-death experiences the two had endured, they had expected Diepte to be in grave danger, but it seems as if the town was in a bubble of peace and calm, undisturbed by any monsters or death traps or worse. “Maybe this isn’t Diepte though…” Sean-Floris thought out loud. “Hang on, I’m gonna ask someone.” 

The blonde knight approached a man wearing a purple top hat and a luxurious-looking coat. “Excuse me…” He spoke. “Is this Diepte?”. The man smiled and said: “Why yes it is! Do you happen to be new around these parts?”.

Abhysial joined Sean. “We’re here because someone in Gildenweald hasn’t heard from this town in a few days, and got worried.” The dark-haired knight explained. “He was waiting for some materials to be delivered to him, and when they went a few days past schedule he got concerned.”. “That wouldn’t happen to be a guy named ‘Mark’, would it?” A voice spoke up. 

Looking past the purple-wearing man, the knights saw a short man with red hair and beard, wearing what appears to be typical mining gear. “Y-yes!” Abhysial spoke. “We came here because Mark was worried. Are you…?” The man sighed. “I’m the one in charge in Diepte.” He spoke. “Name’s Norsun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tl;DR:  
> Sean-Floris: This cave is dangerous  
> Abhysial: ooo shiny  
> Abhysial: [almost dies]
> 
> Sean-Floris: screw dis rock in particular  
> Sean-Floris:  
> Sean-Floris: Let's find more of dis rock in particular.
> 
> Sean-Floris: this Diepte?  
> Traveling merchant: lol yeah  
> Norsun: hi I exist.


	12. Aid

Sean-Floris had to admit… despite being very deep underground in a cave filled with bloodthirsty monsters, bats and death traps, Diepte was a nice place. It wasn’t meant to be a permanent home for the people who worked in the mines- that much was obvious- but it was still nice, not to mention easy to defend. 

Still, as Norsun offered the two some strong coffee, it was clear the settlement wasn’t entirely safe. The short, red haired man looked too concerned for the place to be. 

“Nice seeing that people on the surface noticed something was wrong.” Norsun started. “We’re not exactly able to go out to get help ourselves- not with how things have recently been.”. 

Ah, straight to the point.

“What’s happened?” Abhysial asked, concerned “and why can’t you?”. Norsun sighed. “There’s only one way into this place.” The man spoke, crossing his arms. “Makes it easy to defend, and very dangerous to leave. We had a way to work around that, but recently it stopped working for some weird reason.”.

Interesting….

“How’d you work around it?” Sean-Floris asked, genuinely curious. Was it hidden tunnels? No… that couldn’t be it- tunnels couldn’t just ‘stop working’, unless they had collapsed?

“That purple floating gem” Norsun spoke, motioning vaguely towards the door behind the two. “It used to be able to warp us to the surface with ease, and we used that to deliver whatever Mark would need as well as stock up on food. It’s stopped working recently, and we don’t know why. Some have tried leaving through the tunnels, but they were very quick to come back. Apparently the caverns are a lot less safe now, even for seasoned miners such as myself.”

Huh… a magical gem that could teleport people… where had Sean heard that before…?

Abhysial seemed to know the answer already. “You mean that’s a pylon?” The dark-haired knight asked, curiously. “I think that’s what that guy called it, yeah…” Norsun spoke. “A few years back, before the tyrant was overthrown, a small group of rebellion fighters hid around these parts. Their leader returned later and put that thing there, teaching us how to use it afterwards.”.

Instantly, Sean-Floris shot up. “You mean to tell me lord Graves used to stay here while plotting to overthrow the previous king?!” He asked, excited. Norsun, while taken aback, shook his head. “It was a previous leader. Smart guy” The red-haired man spoke. “Died a horrible death tho- public executions are no joke.” 

Sean-Floris visibly deflated, while Abhysial paled. “But that’s besides the point.” Norsun spoke, getting them back on track. “We’re currently trapped here like rats, and even if we manage to somehow avoid being killed by those things in the caverns, there’s no way we can carry all the supplies Mark needs up to the surface ourselves.” 

“That… sucks…” Sean-Floris spoke, crossing his arms and thinking. It wouldn’t fix the bigger issue at hand, but…. “Maybe we can do it?” The blonde spoke. “I mean, we’re trained knights, we know how to fight off those monsters, and while we don’t know how to fix the pylon, we can come back with food and such whenever you guys need it.” 

Norsun let out a short laugh. “I appreciate the offer” The bearded male spoke. “But while it’s easy to see the two of you are strong, you don’t look like the ‘can carry a few ton of stone’ type of strong…” 

Sean-Floris smirked. “Oh, we have ways to work around that…” He casually remarked. “Just show us where you’ve been storing the stuff Mark’s asked for and we’ll take it from there.” 

Abhysial looked at his friend with a mixture of curiosity and concern. He… wasn’t serious, was he? There’s no way they could actually carry a few tons of stone up- and even if they somehow managed it, how would they get out? There’s no way that rope at the very beginning could hold that much without snapping. 

Norsun seemed skeptical, but eventually sighed and gave in. “Follow me…” He spoke, getting up and exiting the cabin. 

Diepte was well-lit thanks to the many lanterns and street posts the small settlement had, and both knights found themselves looking around the place with interest. This was very much a miner’s village, and while Abhysial found himself liking the place more and more, Sean-Floris began to get nervous once more. They were outside, but there was no sign of the sun, stars, or even clouds above them. The blonde couldn’t wait until they left the caverns.

Finally, the trio reached a large set of doors, seeingly built into the walls of the caves. Norsun opened them with little fanfare, and Abhysial gasped at what he saw beyond them. The room was filled to the brim with large piles of rocks, some of which had been turned into gray bricks which were neatly stacked together. 

...There’s no way they could lift all that....

“Normally we just take a minecart full of them,” Norsun started. “Wheel it over to the gem, warp to the surface, and push the cart the rest of the way to the city. We have to do multiple laps but it works…”

Abhysial was about to comment on it, when Sean-Floris spoke up. “We can do this in just one go if we’re lucky.” The blonde commented, inspecting some of the bricks. “Shouldn’t be too hard…” 

Never before has Abhysial wanted Sean to stop bragging as much as he did right at that moment. 

“You got some magic to help you with that?” Norsun asked. “Because I don’t see the two of you pull that off without it.”. “We do actually!” Sean-Floris spoke, cheerfully. “I went to one of the stores in Gildenweald and found they sold a very handy type of relic. I knew keeping it on me would be a good idea~!” 

Sean pulled a small piggy bank from his bag. “This bad boy can fit SO many items in it, it should be no issue to carry all of this up there.” 

Abhysial was unconvinced, though Norsun seemed to recognize it. “oh!” The red-haired man spoke. “It’s one of those enchanted piggy banks, isn’t it? That could actually work!”. Sean-Floris grinned. “I only have the remains of breakfast in here, so it should be able to work.” The blonde spoke, placing it down. “I’ll just need help getting it all inside.”. 

“No time like the present.” Norsun spoke, rolling up his sleeves before heading to one of the piles of rocks. Sean-Floris nodded, before heading over to where the bricks were. “It should be best if I am the one to put them all in though” The blonde spoke, clearly thinking out loud. “Got it!” the bearded man replied, carrying an arm full of rocks back to the piggy bank. “I’ll get a few men to help me carry things over, and you put them in there.” 

With that, Norsun set the stones down before leading the storage room. 

Abhysial was confused to say the least. Just one brick was larger than the entirety of the piggy bank, yet both Norsun and Sean-Floris were convinced it could hold the entirety of the storage room. Was it… really a magical item?

Just as the dark-haired knight was about to question it, he saw Sean’s hand with one of the bricks seemingly vanish into the tiny piggy bank. There was no light, no magical sparkles or anything- one moment his hand, with brick and all- was there, and the next it had seemingly vanished into the pink piggy.

Abhysial mentally reminded himself that Sean-Floris- while arrogant and a bit too competitive for his own good- did not brag about things without being able to back his claims with proof. 

A few hours later, the entire storage room was empty, and while Abhyisal dreaded having to unload all of those building materials on their own, he was glad to be proven wrong. Several miners had joined in to help the knights, and in turn Sean-Floris had treated them all to the remaining pastries he had left over from breakfast. 

Somehow they were still warm. 

With that done though, it was time for the knights to leave. After promising to figure out what was wrong with the pylon, the two began to make their way back to the surface. Surprisingly enough, there were no incidents on their way back up. A few monsters tried to attack, but the two knights worked together and managed to leave the place unharmed. 

...even though Abhysial couldn’t help but tell Sean to let someone look at the wound on his cheek when they got back, an idea the blonde seemed to disregard.

“It’ll be my first battle scar!” Sean-Floris spoke cheerfully, a few steps ahead of the taller knight. “The first scar of Sean-Floris the great- battle-hardened veteran and national treasure~!”

Abhysial was about to retort, when he felt something… staring at him. The dark-haired knight quickly turned around, scanning the environment around the two of them. It was night time, and while the grasslands around them seemed peaceful with no one else besides them, Abhysial couldn’t help but feel on edge. Sean-Floris noticed, and was immediately on guard as well. “What’s wrong?” He asked, taking a few steps closer to his friend. “I… don’t know…” Abhysial spoke. “I just feel like we’re being watched…”

  
\-----------------------

_Tonight was the night, he could feel it._

_The hooded figure had entered the small, unassuming town shortly after the sun had set. Not many paid him any mind, but it wouldn’t matter if they did- he wasn’t here for them after all._

_He was there because in the grassy fields nearby, the two chosen one would soon fight their first serious battle. The man’s back ached and burned, but he couldn’t afford to pay it much attention, not with what was at stake._

_Carefully leaving the town opposite of where he entered it, the mysterious figure soon found a good vantage point where he could see quite a large big of the grassy fields bordering the small town._

_He thought he saw two figures, standing close together, but the figure’s eye sight was too poor to make out much details._

_Silently cursing, the hooded man took out a bottle filled with glowing orange liquid and quickly downed it. The taste was horrible, but as he coughed, he could see the world coming into focus, and he was able to properly see the two._

_They appeared to be knights of some sort- dressed in the typical armor that has gone from terrifying to welcoming in recent years. The mysterious figure didn’t know why the public opinion on knights had changed so much, but it was probably a good thing it had happened._

_Now that he could properly see, it was time to sit back and wait._

_He just hoped that this was where it would really happen, and that he hadn’t made a second, far more serious mistake._

_Time was running out...._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Norsun: History funfact  
> Abhysial and Sean: 8D  
> Norsun: Dark history fact  
> Abhysial and Sean: D8
> 
> Norsun: Don't think u can do dis  
> Sean-Floris: Consumerism says I can
> 
> ~You feel an evil presence watching you~
> 
> _???, grabbing some popcorn: oh this is gonna be gr8_


	13. vs. Eye of Cthulhu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fear no man  
> But that thing  
> -this chapter-  
> It scares me ;w;
> 
> ...srsly fight scenes scare the living daylight out of me, which is why this chapter too ages. Sorry about that.

The two knights carefully made their way back to Gildenweald, the empty fields surrounding them no longer feeling peaceful. It was too quiet- and it wasn’t being helped by the sudden change in weather. A fog had rolled in, and while it wasn’t too dense, it desaturated the world quite a bit. The feeling of being watched was still very present, and the fog did nothing to ease the feeling. 

“I don’t like this…” Sean spoke, eyes narrowed as he looked around. “Something’s not natural about this fog…”. Abhysial could only nod, having unsheathed his sword mere seconds after he first experienced the spine-chilling feeling of being watched by an ominous entity. 

Abhysial’s heart leapt into his throat when he felt his foot catch on something. The knight stumbled but didn’t fall, quickly looking at what may have caused him to trip. A small, unassuming wooden cross stuck out of the ground- a grave marker, and a rather soddy one at that. Abhysial squinted. He didn’t remember any graves on the way to the cavern entrance, had the two knights gotten lost on the way back? Kneeling down, the dark-haired knight tried to read the words painted on the marker, only for his blood to freeze as he realized what it said.

**Abhysial Kalil’s body was mangled by a demon eye**

Time seemed to slow down as Abhysial heard Sean shout in alarm. The dark-haired knight was shoved to the side and landed on the ground in a heap. Quickly getting up, the first thing he saw was Sean’s back. The blonde was in a defensive stance, clearly preparing for something to strike him. “Get up. now!” Sean’s voice shouted, sounding a bit strange to the taller knight. He had no time to hesitate though, and hurriedly got himself up, weapon ready. 

“You need to get out of this fog!” Sean spoke, grabbing Abhysial’s writst and dragging him back the way the two had come from. Abhysial let himself be dragged out, keeping his eye out for anything that could attack him. 

Soon, the dark-haired knight noticed a dark, round shape gaining on them at alarming speed. Years of training kicked in, and the tall knight tore his wrist free from Sean’s grasp, turned around, and swung with all his might at the incoming shape. 

The blade was met with little resistance- just enough to let Abhysial know that he had hit his mark. 

Opening his eyes- the dark-haired knight hadn’t even realized he had closed them- he saw what appeared to be blood and a white-ish, jelly-like substance on his sword. Abhysial had a split second to see just what he had hit before Sean had grasped his arm again, dragging him away with even more force.

It had been an eye- roughly the size of his head. 

Adrenaline kept Abhysial from freezing at the sight, and his friend’s speed took him further and further from the grizzly sight.

Finally, Abhysial could see the fog seemingly being stopped by an invisible barrier. Not noticing Sean had stopped, he rushed past the other, happy to have clear sight again. However, when he turned around Sean had seemingly vanished. 

“Sean?!” Abhysial called out, ready to sprint back into the fog again to help the other knight. When no answer or cry for help followed though, Abhysial froze. Had- had Sean been…? Before he could even finish that thought, Sean appeared to be shoved out of the fog, stumbling and crashing into the other knight. 

Sean immediately pushed himself away from Abhyisal, sword drawn and ready to strike before he saw who was in front of him. “The heck?!” Sean asked, a mixture of fear and confusion in his voice. “Weren’t you just- what?!”.

Abhysial wanted to ask what was wrong, but the taller knight noticed a few more round shadows emerge from the fog- more eyes. Quickly shoving the other to the side, he managed to take down two of them, though a third one avoided being hit and instead rammed into Abhysial’s chest, sending him back with a surprising amount of force.

Sean recovered, taking out the eye and a fourth one as well. The blonde’s blade easily slit through the flying orbs, giving Abhysial some time to catch his breath and get up. Sean was muttering under his breath, clearly on the verge of panicking, though it seemed as if the thread was over.

...until a rather large, round shape rose from the fog, easily twice Abhysial’s height. Red veins ran along its form, and it seemed to stare directly at the two knights. Sean paled at the sight, and Abhysial could hear the blonde mutter a disbelieving “you’ve got to be kidding me…”.

The two didn’t get much more time to think, though, as the giant eye charged straight at them. 

Both knights managed to leap out of the way just in time, and the eye seemingly phased through the ground right where they had been just a split second before. “WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!” Sean screeched, clearly no longer being able to keep calm. “I don’t know!” Abhysial shouted back, quickly getting up as he felt the ground shake under him. A distant voice called out, telling Abhysial to leap left. THe knight listened, not even questioning who was calling to him or why. 

The eye emerged from the ground again, right where the dark-haired knight had been. Abhysial managed to land a hit with his sword, but it barely seemed to do a thing, the cut leaking the same semi-clear jello the knight had seen, accompanied by some small amounts of blood. 

Years of training had taught the dark-haired knight one thing: If you’re being attacked and you have a chance to strike, strike as many times as you can.

Abhysial sliced at the eye again, using its temporary slowness as a chance to hit the giant orb over and over again. The eye, however, didn’t stay in reach for long, taking to the sky and seemingly summoning more tiny, flying eyeballs. Abhysial braced himself for the incoming attacks, but was surprised when several eyes were knocked out of the sky by projectiles. 

Sean had a few sharp-looking blades in his hand, and had his eye focused on the demon eyes. Abhysial watched as the blonde threw a star-shaped blade at one of them, taking the smaller eye down with just one hit. 

Abhysial quickly shook himself out of it. He didn’t have time to admire Sean’s admittedly impressive knife-throwing skills, not now. 

An eye approached him from the left, and Abhysial quickly took it down, attention rapidly switching between the smaller eyes, the large eye high above them, and Sean-Floris. The taller knight occasionally noticed the blonde paying attention to him as well, watching his back and looking for signs of the other getting overwhelmed or swarmed. 

Later on Abhysial would show his appreciation, but right now all he could do was defend himself, and pay attention to his ally. 

The eye above the two had stopped creating minions, and charged again. This time, though, both knights were prepared. The eye aimed at Sean, who managed to dodge and land a few hits on the giant eyeball, and Abhysial rushed over, quickly stabbing the sword right into the eye’s iris. 

The eye stilled, floating inches above the ground. Abhysial pulled his sword out, cautiously. “Is… did we win?” Sean asked from somewhere behind the eye. The giant orb floated upwards, and it seemed as if it had given up, deciding to leave the two knights alone.

Until a tear began to form from both sides of the final cut Abhysial left, and the eye tore itself open, revealing a maw filled to the brim with razor-sharp teeth.Neither one of the knights had time to properly process what they had just seen before the eye- now more of a flying orb with a mouth than an eyeball- charged at them again, even faster than it had been before. 

Abhysial dove out of the way, and Sean did the same. The blonde barely had time to recover as the eye charged again from somewhere underground. Sean tried to slash the eye-mouth, but it was too quick for the shorter knight, dodging out of the way with ease before ramming Sean-Floris, slamming him into a tree with enough force to produce a very loud cracking sound, as if the tree itself was damaged by the impact. 

Abhysial froze as he watched his best friend fall to the ground. It seemed as if the entire world had stilled, and all the dark-haired knight could focus on was the tree and the form of his friend lying in front of it. The taller knight didn’t notice the maw approaching him until he felt part of his armor being crushed as the ground vanished from under his feet. Barely having time to brace himself for impact, Abhysial was slammed into the ground.

Dazed, in pain and mind unable to grasp what had just happened, Abhysial looked up at the monster he and Sean had been fighting. It seemed to float further up into the sky, as if preparing to charge at its prey one final time. Time slowed down once again as Abhysial watched the eye charge. This… couldn’t be it. They couldn’t die like this- this just wasn’t real.

When the eye was mere meters away from Abhysial, however, someone intervened.

Or rather- something.

A golden-furred beast slammed into the side of the giant orb, knocking it to the side just enough to miss the injured and dazed knight on the ground. The demonic eye vanished into the ground, though muffled a roar could be heard. Abhysial turned his head a little to look at the being that saved him, and saw a large, bipedal, wolf-like creature with golden fur and a glowing, crescent-shaped jewel on its chest. The creature didn’t spare the fallen knight any attention as it fell back on all fours and sprinted off, away from the knight. The eye-mouth rose from the ground, charging after the golden beast, clearly angered at being kept from finishing the knight off.

Abhysial tried to get up, but his chest seared in agony at the attempt, and the dark-haired knight could taste blood in his mouth. Letting out a pathetic sound, the knight was forced back down again by his own body. 

Abhysial then noticed a second wolf-like creature. Unlike the first, it was silver in color, with no noticeable features aside from being bipedal like the first one, and having piercing red eyes. The wolf-creature was kneeling down by the knight’s side, holding out a glass bottle with a glowing, red liquid.

A healing potion. 

The wolf paid little mind to his companion- who was still busy distracting the giant orb. and forced Abhysial’s mouth open, pouring the red liquid in. 

Immediately, the dark-haired knight began to gag. The potion was sickeningly sweet, and while the knight could practically feel his body healing- going from agonizing pain to mild soreness- the overall experience was unpleasant to say the least. However, after what felt like minutes, Abhysial could sit up easily, completely healed by whatever magic the potion had contained. 

The wolf shoved a second one into Abhysial’s hands, before getting up on all fours and dashing over to where his golden friend was still dodging the eye-mouth’s attempts to harm him. 

It took an embarrassingly long time for Abhysial’s mind to grasp the situation, but when he did he immediately got up, trying to make his way towards Sean-Floris as quickly as he could, but still somewhat hindered by pain. 

The blonde was in bad shape, Abhysial could tell even from a distance that the potion wouldn’t nearly be able to do as much as it had done for him. A pool of blood had formed below the fallen knight, and as ABhysial turned him over to lay on his back he could see several dark bruises begin to form. Sean’s armor hadn’t taken the hit to the tree too well, being bent out of shape in some spots and dented inwards in others. Abhysial wasted no time, pouring the liquid into his friend’s mouth and starting to take off Sean’s chestplate- in some places it looked like it was dented inwards so much that it could have broken some bones, and keeping it on could hinder the effects of the potion. Having taken off the piece of armor, Abhysial began to feel for a pulse, practically crying in relief when he found one.

It was weak, but it was slowly but surely growing stronger. 

Abhysial gently moved his friend to the other side of the tree, making it so that if the eye-mouth were to try and attack Sean, it wouldn’t be able to find him right away. He wanted to hide, wanted to run away from the eye monster and get himself and Sean to safety, but something kept Abhysial from doing so. He didn’t know what possessed him, but the dark-haired knight felt calm, taking Sean’s sword- his own had been lost somewhere- and turning back towards where the eye was still busy battling the two wolf-like creatures. A strange familiarity filled him as he slowly made his way over, picking up more speed the closer he got until he was full-on sprinting towards the entity that had nearly killed him and his best friend. Letting out a loud war-cry that sounded unlike any other sound Abhysial had ever produced, Abhysial swung his blade at the eye, hitting it right in the middle, and finishing the monster off. 

The eye mouth resisted for a bit, but eventually perished with one final roar, its flesh turning gelatinous as it broke apart, leaving Abhysial to stand in a pile of gore and white, jelly-like sludge. 

All was once again quiet, until the golden wolf left out a victorious-sounding howl at the moon. Abhysial barely heard it as the silver wolf-like being joined in. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, the dark haired knight’s muscles were screaming at him. And yet, espite the absolute agony Abhysial was in, he felt strangely energized. 

The golden wolf took notice, and nudged Abhysial’s cheek with its nose. “Thanks…” Abhysial muttered, a wave of nausea and dizziness hitting him. “Just-.... thanks…”

Abhysial collapsed against the golden-furred creature, who let out a surprised yelp of sorts, before barking at the silver one, who immediately rushed over to where Abhysial had put Sean. The dark-haired knight watched as the wolf-like beast picked Sean up with his maw, before rushing back to where the golden wolf was. The golden wolf seemed to hesitate, before draping Abhysial onto his back. The two wolves then rushed away from the place of battle. 

Abhysial fought to stay away, watching as the forest passed him by. He didn’t know how he hadn’t slid off of the wolf’s back yet, but he was too tired to move much. From where he was laying, he could see the silver wolf carry Sean with ease, following his golden companion at the same break-neck speed. Abhysial wanted to reach out to make sure Sean still had a pulse, his mind clouded with concern and worry for his friend, but he was too weak to do so. 

Finally, the forest shifted to farmlands, and eventually to a few houses. Abhysial wondered if the wolves had been trained to bring people to the nearest city or village, but didn’t pay it much attention until he was carefully dropped near a familiar fountain. 

The wolves had brought him and Sean back to Gildenweald, and dropped them off at the town square. 

Abhysial tried to crawl over to where the silver wolf had dropped Sean, when an ear-piercingly loud howl could be heard. The dark-haired knight looked over to the two wolves, both standing on their hind legs and howling loudly at the moon. Several houses had their lights turn on, and some people rushed outside. The wolves fell back on all fours and sprinted off, leaving the townsfolk to gape at them, before turning towards the two injured knights. The last Abhysial saw were several people rushing over to him, concerned questions being shot at the both of them.

Abhysial was too tired to reply to any of them, falling into an uneasy, dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TL;DR:  
> EoC: [exists]  
> Abhysial and Sean-Floris: [dying]  
> Wolf 1 and 2: Woof  
> EoC: [ceases to exist]

**Author's Note:**

> Abhysial Khalil belongs to Couvina on Ao3  
> More of his characters will be added as time goes on.


End file.
